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u.s. air force (russell e. cooley iv)
While aircraft such as the Air Force's C-17 Globemaster have all the latest advances in navigation technology, their crews would be literally lost without these systems, since basic skills like celestial navigation are no longer taught by the Air Force.
u.s. air force (russell e. cooley iv)

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Now Hear This: Back to Basics: Tradition in Future Warfare

By Commander Carl B. Forkner, U.S. Navy
July 2008
Proceedings
Vol. 134/7/1,265
Article
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From the earliest days of man's journeys he has depended on the basic signs of nature to guide him—the sun, the stars, and landmarks along the way. Technology developed over time, and man used new implements to better exploit these basic natural guides—the compass, charts, sextants, timepieces, and so forth. The last half-century has seen perhaps the greatest advances in navigation technology: precision radars, inertial navigation systems, computer-controlled aircraft systems, "paperless" charts, and the global positioning system. Unlike the natural guides they may exploit or replace, these technological wonders require an element that natural navigation aids do not—power and a permissive electromagnetic environment. Without this environment, these technological tools cannot function as they are intended.

Since the start of the 21st century, our schoolhouses have progressively trained a military force that is highly dependent on modern technology to accomplish its mission. We have approached our training and employment philosophy from the perspective of a global hegemon, always able to ensure an environment conducive to the use of these new and emerging technologies. However, with technological advances came innovation in countermeasures—the ability to deny the use of these invaluable tools. Some of these include jamming technology (communications, GPS), computer network attack, electromagnetic pulse weapons, and so forth. While our training establishments embraced these new tools, they did so at the cost of skills such as celestial navigation, radio direction-finding, "time hacks," and other time-tested, effective tools.

Today's generation of aircraft have as their primary instrumentation "glass cockpits," or virtual instruments generated by computers interpreting inputs from sensors, digital compass equipment, and other mission-specific devices. But what happens when the use of these new technological marvels is denied by a technologically-savvy adversary? What happens when the GPS constellation is not available to tell aircraft where they are? What happens when damage to an aircraft takes away the computer or the display capability? Are there backup systems?

The answer is, yes—and no. While there are basic analog (non-digital, non-computer) navigation instruments, they lack the ability to effectively navigate long distances. The F-22, the Air Force's newest and most advanced fighter, has an ultra-high frequency direction-finding capability with its backup instruments, but does not have that capability using a high frequency signal (HF/DF), which would allow it to home in on a shore base over long distances. For the C-17, C-130, P-3, and other long-range search and logistics aircraft, celestial navigation is no longer available as a long-range navigation aid. Both the Air Force and the Navy have stopped teaching this centuries-old skill and have removed the equipment—and the capability—from their aircraft.

The answer is a simple one: don't eliminate the basic skills on which the technology of today was built. There is still a use for wet compasses, sextants, flashlights, charts, and stopwatches. There is still a use for HF/DF homing. And there is room in the training continuum to start with the basics before immersing our future pilots and navigators in their technology-driven flying careers.

We must also be able to effectively attain our goals on a non-technological battlefield. As technology marches ahead, we must refocus on the traditional means that have guided men through centuries, reintroduce basic navigational skills and equipment into our training courses and aircraft, and be prepared for the full range of operating environments.

This foundation of basic skills—and having the basic equipment available—will allow our joint air forces to operate when our technology is gone. We look at riders on horseback, living in tents, and communicating with simple means being effective in attaining their goals. These are the adversaries that will prevail when technology is taken out of the equation. 

Commander Forkner is an instructor of international security studies and instructor of warfighting at the Air War College. He is a naval flight officer with over 3,500 hours in the P-3, T-43, S-3, and LC-130 and served as CDC officer on the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) during Operation Enduring Freedom.

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