A new targeting pod is transforming the Harrier community. Continued support will ensure that Marines on the ground reap the benefits of this increased capability.
The Marine Corps' Harrier community always has had the capability to execute offensive air-support missions and limited antiair warfare missions during day and night. The community recently added the Litening II targeting pod, an asset that enables the completion of these missions with increased accuracy. This targeting pod also allows Harriers to send target video images to the Marine air-ground task force and joint task force (MAGTF/JTF) commander or special operating forces. Program critics, however, fueled by speculation about the Harrier's tactical or technical shortcomings, have, at times, questioned support for the aircraft. The Marine Corps, with full backing from the Department of the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, must continue to support the Harrier program because of its greatly increased warfighting capabilities.
Litening II Targeting Pod
The U.S. Air Force first purchased the Litening pod for its F-16 in the late 1990s. Marine Corps aviation later purchased it to meet the Harrier's requirement for onboard target designation. The pod provides:
- Day and night target acquisition and tracking
- Target location with global positioning system (GPS) accuracy
- Target mean sea level altitude
- Target identification of moving or stationary targets
- Laser spot detector and tracker
- Laser designator and range finder
- Infrared (IR) target designation
- Real-time video downlink
- 8-mm tape for target/engagement analysis
Deep Air Support
The deep air-support mission (DAS) is defined as "air action against enemy targets at such a distance from friendly forces that detailed integration of each mission with fire and movement of friendly forces is not required." Harriers fly three DAS missions: air interdiction (AI), armed reconnaissance (AR), and strike coordination and reconnaissance (SCAR). During Desert Storm, Bosnia, and the first days of Operation Enduring Freedom, Harriers completed these missions strictly as bomb droppers and gun shooters and always depended on another aircraft to find, identify, and designate targets. The Litening pod eliminates this dependence on other aircraft.
Air interdiction missions destroy, neutralize, or delay an enemy's military potential before it can be brought to bear effectively against friendly forces. With the Litening pod, the Harrier can provide the laser designation for a precision strike and report bomb effects on the target. The pod eliminates the need for other MAGTF/JTF assets to provide laser designation or to conduct battle-damage assessments.
Armed reconnaissance missions locate and attack targets of opportunity in assigned areas. The key to armed reconnaissance is the identification and engagement of enemy forces before they can threaten MAGTF forces. For example, during Desert Storm, the F/A-18D identified targets and marked them for the day-attack version of the Harrier. Ten years later, during the first days of Operation Enduring Freedom, radar-equipped and night-attack Harriers saw many potential targets. Without the ability to identify those targets, however, authorization to strike could not be granted. The Litening pod allows the Harrier community to locate and identify targets. Testing with the Litening pod has proved its ability to track a single man, at night, from a comfortable altitude sanctuary. The nation's enemies no longer can hide.
Strike coordination and reconnaissance missions acquire, report, and coordinate the destruction of targets. Until recently, Harriers flew strike coordination and reconnaissance missions strictly as bomb droppers. With no target identification or designation equipment, the Harrier's role was limited. With the Litening pod, the Harrier has limitless potential as a SCAR coordination platform by locating, identifying, and providing a target mark for armed reconnaissance missions or providing a target location for air interdiction missions.
In fact, Litening-equipped Harriers have the ability to coordinate coalition aircraft dropping precision or non-precision weapons. The laser designator provides the precision designation, while the IR marker provides the non-precision designation. The IR marker is placed on a target and can be seen by anyone wearing night-vision devices. Aircrews can now destroy targets at night with conventional unguided ordnance. If no designation is required, the target location and mean sea level altitude is provided with GPS accuracy. This potential was exercised during Operation Iraqi Freedom. With continued training, the Harrier will make the transition from bomb dropper to coordinator of this mission.
Close-Air Support
Close-air support (CAS) is defined as "air action against hostile targets that are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces."6 Although Harriers have been members of the Marine Corps' elite fixed-wing CAS team since Desert Storm, the Litening pod provides vastly increased lethality, especially at night. The Harrier pilot simply designates the initial target location provided by the ground forward air controller (FAC) with the IR marker. The FAC provides verbal adjustments until the marker is on the target. The Harrier pilot then can laser-designate the target for precision-guided munitions or continue an IR designation for free-fall ordnance. The FAC's newfound ability to see exactly what the pilot is targeting will revolutionize night CAS.
In addition, the laser spot tracker is used during CAS to pick up a laser designation provided by the FAC or FAC-airborne (FAC[A]). Once the Litening pod tracks the ground laser, it can carry the designation on its own. The FAC or FAC(A) no longer needs to provide the designation during an entire attack in what could be a high-threat environment.
Video Downlink and Litening II
During the Marine Aviation Weapons and Training Squadron One (MAWTS-I) weapons and tactics instructor course 1-03 in October 2002, the first video downlink Litening pod was used with success during peacetime training. In December 2002, the pod flew tests with special operations forces (SOF) at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The ground personnel were carrying the man pack receiving system (MRS), a ruggedized laptop that weighs 22 pounds and carries five hours of battery life. Its omnidirectional antenna receives one-way streaming of real-time video from a C-band signal sent from the Litening pod.
All MRS testing was conducted at night, under lowlight conditions, and the IR marker was used first to identify the friendly forces. While the MRS operator looked both at the real-time video pod on the MRS and the area on the ground where the IR marker stopped, simple commands were given to the pilot such as "Slew 100 meters south. Stop. Those are friendly." Once the friendly forces were identified to the pilot, the SOF personnel provided a potential target location. While the pod focused on the potential target, the MRS operator was able to give various directions, such as when to zoom in or out and pan left or right. These directions continued until the pilot stabilized the pod on the target. Thus, the Harrier/SOF team found a group of men huddled together, counted how many men were in the target area, and identified their location and sea level elevation—without being observed.
Subsequently, during combat operations in the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force (1 MEF) area of operations on 30 March 2003, a Litening-equipped Harrier was used by a ground FAC using the MRS. After successful engagement of targets at night in an urban setting, the FAC reported: "This is too easy." The success of that sortie—like many of the 2,376 sorties provided by the 75 Harriers of Marine Aircraft Group 13 (Reinforced)—was a testament to the Litening II targeting pod and the entire Harrier community.
The Marine air-ground task force and joint task force commander can watch real-time video and make targeting decisions. As the Harrier pilot watches the video and listens to the commander's intentions, the pilot can either coordinate the target's destruction or destroy it himself. As a result, the Harrier will provide a lethality that most coalition aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles cannot. Moreover, time-sensitive targeting will change forever, as will the Harrier's role in that cycle.
Aircraft Upgrades and Training
During the past several years, the Harrier community has been working on its next total platform software upgrade—the open system core avionics requirement (OSCAR). OSCAR, planned for fleet introduction during early fiscal year 2005, will enable the Harrier to deliver the joint direct-attack munition (JDAM) and the advanced medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM). OSCAR also will include all of the Litening pod software additions.
With a total aircraft software change comes a large training requirement. Both JDAM and AMRAAM are effective weapons, but they require significant training time before they can be employed with the high success rates that the Department of Defense has come to expect.
In peacetime, aircraft sorties equal aircrew training. The current Marine Corps aviation campaign plan targets 1215 sorties per aircrew, per month. Considering the broad range of missions the Harrier community provides the MAGTF/JTF commander, the community must be funded to meet the high end of that training goal. Every Harrier squadron pilot must fly an average of 15 sorties every month.
During fiscal year 2002, the Marine Corps budgeted $2.8 billion to its aviation combat element. Of that, $224 million, or just 7.95%, was used to fund the Harrier program. In the next two years, this anemic portion will decrease to 6.2% of the aviation budget. To ensure that every pilot has the appropriate training for all the missions, these numbers require further study.
Criticisms
According to the 1999 U.S. Marine Corps Harrier Review Panel report, the Harrier, when compared to other Department of the Navy tactical aircraft, is a single-engine airplane that is challenging to fly and difficult to maintain. The report stated that because of its relatively low priority within the Department of the Navy, it lags other aircraft in warfighting capabilities.
Today, critics of the Harrier program still base their arguments on the aircraft's perceived technical or tactical shortcomings. Critics insist that a single engine is a single point of failure and the maintenance man-hours required to generate Harrier flight hours are much too high when compared to other aircraft. Others argue the aircraft simply is not capable enough to rate its portion of the budget.12
Technically, the Harrier always will remain a single-engine aircraft that is difficult to maintain. Advances in engine balancing, engine bearings, and engine vibration analysis, however, have greatly improved Harrier engine reliability. Moreover, a new maintenance process repairs damaged engine blades without removing the engine. This saves the Harrier community thousands of maintenance man-hours every year.
These technical improvements come just in time for the MAGTF/JTF commander to employ the vast tactical improvements provided by the Litening pod and the OSCAR software upgrade. The quiet determination of Harrier community leaders has led to these recent breakthroughs in maintenance management and warfighting capabilities. Current criticisms seem to come more from habit than from critical analysis.
Conclusion
With the aircraft capabilities of the Harrier increasing at an exponential rate, it is obvious that the community is entering a period of renaissance. The Litening II targeting pod has been a great victory for Marine Corps aviation and for the support the aviation combat element can now provide to Marines on the ground. The nation's warfighters have never had a stronger Harrier force. This strength only can be maintained with careful management by the Marine Corps and strong support from the Department of the Navy and Office of the secretary of Defense.
Captain Elfers is a Harrier pilot studying at the Defense Language Institute for a personnel exchange with the Italian Navy. A 1995 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, he served with Marine Attack Squadron 223, Marine Aircraft Group 14.