"Red Rat, Picture. Three groups. First group, Bullseye, 360, 25, track south, medium, heavy. Second group, Bullseye, 090, 40, cap, high, heavy, targeted by Gypsy. Third group. . ."
You have just checked in on the tactical fighter frequency for the Eastern Mediterranean Task Group. You are forward-based out of Crete as the United Nations organizes a response to the breach of the demilitarized zone; the mission is to maintain a combat air patrol station off the coast of Cyprus. Are you talking to an airborne warning and control system aircraft from the United Kingdom or France, or to an E-2 Hawkeye from a U.S. Navy carrier? No, you are receiving information over the radio, backed up by digital information, through a Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS)/Link-16 net from a Royal Navy Sea King Mark 7 airborne early warning (AEW) helicopter. This scenario is not far away. In January 2002, the Royal Navy will begin receiving 13 aircraft refurbished with new avionics systems. The following September, the first three aircraft will be operationally embarked in HMS Ark Royal with 849 Naval Air Squadron's A Flight, one of two frontline AEW squadrons.
The Mark 7 aircraft system will revolutionize tactics by bringing to bear current technology in command, control, and communications, and will enable the Royal Navy to integrate seamlessly into NATO command structures. Although there is little difference in appearance from the current Sea King Mark 2, the meat of the electronics will be replaced with commercial off-the-shelf technology integrated into specifically designed systems. A new radar, the Searchwater 2000, extends detection range and improves tracking within its scan volume. Interface between the system and its operators— known in the Royal Navy as observers—has been built to accommodate easier information access and dissemination. Inclusion of the JTIDS/Link-16 is a quantum leap in capability for the Royal Navy.
The new radar was designed by former Royal Navy observers in concert with active-duty observers. Whether the system remains in the Sea King Mark 7 or is moved to a new aircraft, the Royal Navy will have a solid foundation for future operations. The Searchwater 2000 radar has no "clutter ring" like the old model, thus the Mark 7 can detect targets overland and maintain a set altitude. Built with diversity in mind, the Searchwater 2000 has several different modes that can be selected for air space surveillance depending on the mission. It can be programmed so that the aircraft can scan for high flying surveillance aircraft, medium-to-low-level missile and aircraft attack, and maintain the surface maritime picture—all concurrently. This is done through the use of both pulse envelope and pulse Doppler sectors. A more powerful transmitter has extended detection range as well. And it can produce imaging identification nearly as well as the inverse synthetic aperture radar. The Searchwater 2000 imaging mode gives the operator an interpretive radar picture from which to identify surface vessels by type and possibly class.
Greatly expanded tracking capabilities complement the expanded range, processing, and operating modes of the radar. The new system allows the crew to analyze more than 600 surface and air tracks. The current system can track only 40 surface contacts, and they must be manually initiated. In addition, the observers must maintain tracks on all airborne contacts, which constrains battle space management. Only about 12 surface and air tracks can be maintained and reported by the Mark 2 crew. Because Searchwater 2000 automatically tracks all contacts, the crew can spend more time analyzing the picture than "bean counting," and they will have better information with which to work while allocating fighters and other assets. Along with other upgrades, the new radar system is fully integrated with a standard Mark XII identification of friend or foe (IFF) system. It is capable of interrogating all IFF modes and codes, including the ever-- critical Mode 4, in such a way that observers can more readily handle the information. In contrast to the Mark 2, the available codes will be displayed at the touch of a button in the Mark 7. The basic system upgrade brings the Sea King Mark 7 capabilities close to the E-2C Group II standard, with room to grow.
The new aircraft operations stations are redesigned so as to display sensor information better. The design group carefully planned the most efficient and economical way of presenting information. They developed a multicolor, 21-inch main display, and two multi-menu touch displays for each operator. Designed with close cooperation between manufacturers and frontline operators, the display and management systems are efficient and very comfortable to use. The information is presented as symbols. The days of tracking inbound air contacts with a grease pencil and plastic overlay with bearing lines and range rings are over. Observers can see at a glance where contacts of interest are in relation to a variety of reference points, and the increase in tactical awareness will be dramatic.
Because the Sea King is crewed by one pilot and two observers, one observer serves as copilot as well as system operator. The system has to present the tactical picture in a usable format so at least one observer can maintain situational awareness. In the Mark 7, the material and mission status of fighters are maintained through the data link and can be brought up in conjunction with a visual representation of fighter assignments. Two onscreen menus, a keyboard, and a roller-trackball give observers the ability to call up vast amounts of data. Any piece of information can be accessed within three keystrokes or menu selections, no matter the software level. The system also enables observers to pull up a host of other information, such as operational charts, navigational data, communications status, and missile engagement zones. The designers provided for systems growth by including electronic warfare data and greater processing power, and there is a single switch for regaining the picture when situational awareness is lost. The displays enhance observers' awareness and assist them in passing information to tactical units.
Integration of JTIDS/Link-16 improves information availability and reporting to the current E-2 Hawkeye level. For the first time, the Sea King will be able to collate and transfer gathered information by data link instead of labor-intensive voice reporting. Surface and airborne contacts today must be verbally transmitted to the commanding unit, which increases the workload of both operators and recorders and delays the timeliness of decisions made through multiple interpretations. In addition to digital tactical data channels, encrypted voice channels are available.
The Mark 7 air and surface pictures will be at the near-real-time level, thus giving the task force commander a more comprehensive view of the battle space. The JTIDS voice nets and other dedicated secure speech facilities will ensure that the tactical picture is clear and in full color. With standard NATO JTIDS equipment, the Mark 7 can maintain the air and surface pictures as necessary, and voicelessly communicate tactical pictures and missions to various aircraft.
Beyond the U.K. task force, JTIDS/ Link-16 integration allows the Sea King Mark 7 to be a full member of the NATO command-and-control structure. It can be deployed from a variety of ships, but it also has limitations. Because the Sea King is unpressurized, it cannot maintain crew functionality above 10,000 feet, which limits the radar horizon. Further, it is a high-value helicopter that requires protection. A number of defensive options have been investigated, such as chaff and flare dispensers, towed electronic and heat decoys, and newer systems-all would require that an updated detection sensor system be added to the aircraft. Nonetheless, the Sea King Mark 7 is a vast improvement over the Mark 2.
The Royal Navy will be able to more effectively take part in combined and multinational operations. The Mark 7 will be an important command-and-control platform that can share the task of maintaining the tactical picture. It will see over land, detect enemy forces, control friendly forces from the beach inland, and function as an airborne command platform able to control aircraft. Working with the U.S. Navy, a Sea King Mark 7 squadron easily could be tasked to support a combined amphibious ready group, even in the absence of the E-2 Hawkeye.
Although superbly equipped for integration with multinational forces, the Mark 7 was designed primarily to support U.K. national interests overseas. Royal Navy doctrine emphasizes its role in the conduct of autonomous littoral operations. Without host-nation support or a neutral nation, Royal Air Force airborne early warning is severely limited if not impossible. In this regard, the Sea King Mark 7 helicopter will be essential. It would have been a godsend to Royal Navy support operations in Sierra Leone a few years ago.
The 849 Naval Air Squadron tradition and motto, Primus Video—first to see—dates from World War II. Thereafter, the Royal Navy was a leader in organic AEW until it retired its last conventional carrier and subsequently disbanded the squadron. In the wake of the Falklands War and the loss of several British combatants and merchant ships, the Sea King Mark 2 was introduced to the fleet. Initially implemented as a radar gap filler to complement ships' radars, it was founded on the late 1960s concept of detecting and combating low-flying attack aircraft. The Sea King and the associated tactics have been evolving ever since. The Mark 7 will leap over several generations. The new equipment and continued excellence of the operators give the Royal Navy and the United Kingdom's allies a new deck of cards with which to deal a winning hand.
Lieutenant Shoger completed an exchange tour with 849 Naval Air Squadron in Cornwall, England in October 2000.