The
Eyes
Have It
Full motion video is the cutting edge technology that adds invaluable information and confirmation. The Counter Terrorism Airborne Analysis Center (CTAAC), a unit run jointly by the Department of Defense and interested civilian agencies, has been making use of large volumes of full motion video (FMV) of late. Captain Sam Percy, a reserve Army officer assigned to CTAAC and a solutions engineer at Overwatch Systems, works in the first phase of video analysis, which means that he monitors live video feeds streamed into the center from unmanned aerial vehicles. “Working with video enables us to identify targets, create analysis surrounding target sets, and generate correlations among the targets from different locations,” Percy said. “It is especially useful when it comes to following and tracking individuals and personalities.” CTAAC analysts also use video and imagery to construct route analysis for warfighters pursuing targets. “We can analyze routes from a helicopter landing zone to a target and assess enemy threats in the area,” said Percy. “At the end of the day there is a great feeling of accomplishment knowing that we equipped our troops with as much intelligence information as needed for them to complete their mission and safely return home.” There is no question about the increased demand in the military and intelligence communities for access to and analysis and exploitation of full motion video. Experts say this is driven Sam Percy by the explosion in the number of available sensors and platforms that provide FMV; a few dozen assets 10 years ago have exploded to thousands today. The volume of video taken in Afghanistan and Iraq in any given year can be measured in decades. The key added value that video brings over still imagery intelligence is the ability to observe targets over time. FMV provides a capability to understand human activity over and above the insights to be derived from still David Fields imagery. “Military operators have become increasingly dependent on FMV for general situational awareness and target specific reconnaissance,” said David Fields, chief technology officer at Logos Technologies. “The primary development for platforms has been the advent of unmanned www.TISR-kmi.com
By Peter Buxbaum TISR Correspondent
aircraft. The advance of this technology will continue for the foreseeable future, making airborne FMV ubiquitous.” The need for FMV has been advanced as well by the changing nature of warfare, according to Dr. Richard Wittstruck, system of systems director at the Army’s Program Executive Office, Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S). “During the first Gulf War we used imagery for target acquisition and battle damage assessment,” he said. “In the current campaign we are operating in a full spectrum of landscapes with a mix of urban and rural and a lot of moving components. We have noncombatants trying to live their lives. We need an unblinking eye to provide patterns of behavior to indicate that something is happening. Full motion video has become that gap filler.” The Army utilizes several integrated platforms that include FMV capabilities. Airborne Reconnaissance Rich Wittstruck Low (ARL) integrates the aircraft, payload and analyst multifunction workstations to form a system that employs imagery intelligence, as well as GMTI and SAR radars, for the collection, processing and dissemination of intelligence products. The aircraft can also support the simultaneous dissemination of full motion video data. The Medium Altitude Reconnaissance Surveillance System (MARSS) and the Aerial Reconnaissance and Multi-Sensor System are both quick reaction capabilities (QRCs) that deliver FMV directly to the warfighter. “ARL is a program of record, which means it has line item in the defense budget and is integrated into the Army’s force structure,” said Wittstruck. “The QRCs represent a limited time investment respond to niche requirement in theater, often fielded within weeks or months. QRCs can transition to a program of record, remain a niche capability, or be retired and disposed of.” ARL has been used since the 1980s, when it had its genesis during counterterror and counternarcotics operations in Central and South America. MARSS gained notoriety a few years ago when it was used by Task Force ODIN (observe, detect, identify and neutralize). Activated in Iraq in 2007, Task Force ODIN provided intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to U.S. Army commanders to better detect and act against insurgent forces. It has also been used in conjunction with Project Liberty, an Air Force effort begun in 2009 to identify targets in Afghanistan and Iraq from the air. TISR 1.5 | 5