Innovative Use of a HIDACZ in Combat

Courtesy Photo | A powerful 25th Combat Aviation Brigade CH-47 Chinook Helicopter is staged during an ongoing night operation as seen by Soldiers from Company F, 3-25 Aviation Air Traffic Services Tactical Command Post Tower controllers through night vision goggles at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Iraq. Air Traffic Control Soldiers were challenged daily as FOB Warhorse was the staging area for the Multi-National Corps-Iraq main effort during Operation "Arrowhead Ripper" in Baqubah, Iraq.  

BAQUBAH, IRAQ

12.14.2007

Courtesy Story

25th Combat Aviation Brigade

By Col. A. Thomas Ball and Maj. Pete Eberhardt
25th Combat Aviation Brigade Public Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE WARHORSE, Iraq - The 25th Combat Aviation Brigade's innovative use of an Air Traffic Services Tactical Command Post (TAC) Tower Team significantly improved air-ground integration in the volatile Diyala province during Operation Arrowhead Ripper – the fight for Baqubah – and its sequel, Lightning Hammer, which saw Multi-National Division – North conduct major offensive operations through the Diyala River Valley. Forward Operating Base Warhorse, located in Baqubah, Iraq, is the current home of 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division.

With the addition of more Army units into the battlespace in order to spearhead the Division's main effort such as 3/2 Stryker Brigade, the CAB faced a significant airspace de-confliction challenge.

Despite the relatively small size of FOB Warhorse, the "surge" resulted in an additional Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 3 platoons of Shadow Unmanned Aerial Vehicles , a Division TAC, and a dramatic increase in Army rotary wing traffic, all operating in the relatively confined battle space surrounding FOB Warhorse.

Although the increase in troops created air space challenges, it also offered the 25th CAB an opportunity to enhance the lethality and efficiency of the combined arms team. The 25th CAB deployed a TAC Tower Team and quickly established a High Density Airspace Control Zone to increase the ability to safely and efficiently use the airspace surrounding FOB Warhorse.

The tower controlled over 4,100 movements during the months of July and August 2007 alone. This innovative approach to the issues related to airspace control in complex urban terrain dramatically increased the freedom of maneuver and the effectiveness of friendly forces operating in the area.

In accordance with Field Manual 3-52, Army Airspace Command and Control in a Combat Zone, a HIDACZ is, "An area in which there is a concentrated employment of numerous and varied weapons or airspace users." As a result of combat operations related to the "surge," a HIDACZ was established to effectively meet this challenge at FOB Warhorse.

The 25th CAB established this airspace control measure specifically for the area surrounding the base as a means for the unit to take positive control of the airspace and its users in order to allow maximum flexibility for the air and ground force commanders. Commanders could then employ every weapons system available, at a moments notice without impacting other airspace users.

The HIDACZ developed for FOB Warhorse allowed for three specific things. First, it allowed for the safe use of the airspace surrounding Warhorse. Second, the commander could simultaneously integrate both manned and unmanned aviation platforms within his battle space. Finally, the HIDACZ allowed for artillery and AWTs to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of their fires on enemy targets within the control zone.

None of these functions were employed independently of each other, but instead were integrated to allow for a single result: the ability to take a potential hazard (extremely congested airspace) and transform it into a combat multiplier that facilitated the rapid employment of every weapons system available.

ATS units in Iraq have typically provided airspace control in areas removed from the tactical fight. The TAC Tower Team that was established at FOB Warhorse had a different purpose, from the start.

The BCT Tactical Operations Center was overwhelmed by radio calls from airspace users in and around Baqubah. In addition to their mission of de-conflicting aircraft traffic, the team also rapidly increased the effectiveness of the 3-1 CAV counter fire drill in the vicinity of Baqubah.

The process began by integrating the ATS personnel into the 3-1 CAV Air Defense and Airspace Management cell operations. The combined cell developed a battle drill that facilitated rapid response to enemy targets that were identified in areas surrounding the FOB.

With the direct link to the ground force TOC, the TAC Tower Team could provide a critical first response to the fleeting enemy targets within the battle space. Not only could the ATS team clear airspace for counter-fire from the local artillery battery but they could also re-direct Air Weapons Teams onto emerging and time sensitive enemy targets.

With the ATS team fully integrated into the counter-fire drill, within seconds a potential enemy target could be relayed to the TAC Tower and then passed to rotary wing traffic that could action on the target. This tactic, technique and procedure proved invaluable to the 3-1 CAV and served as a methodology to integrate ATS into the tactical fight.

The existing HIDACZ was divided into four sections. This technique allows an airspace controller to potentially maintain 75% of the airspace available for use, in the event the controlling agency needs to divert traffic. Although the Shadow UAVs posed a significant challenge, with the proper use of the sectors of the HIDACZ, both manned and unmanned aerial traffic could continue to operate in the vicinity of FOB Warhorse without a significant increase in risk.

By aligning the axis of the pie chart sectors with the existing UAV launch axis, the unmanned traffic could be relegated to a single section of the chart during their launch and recovery sequence. This allowed the manned rotary wing aircraft to enter and depart the airspace surrounding FOB Warhorse through different sectors. Additionally, the location of the center of the chart is significant.

By ensuring the center of the circle is offset to the optimal position – not necessarily the center of the perimeter – the ground unit effectively increases the flexibility of every system available. From the artillery to the Shadow UAV to the AWT, if the center of the sector chart is properly positioned, the ground unit will minimize the impact on all airspace users and their ability to access key locations. In this particular case the Medical Evacuation pad, the Forward Arming and Refueling Point and the artillery battery are located in separate sectors, thereby reducing the impact of closed sectors during counter fire missions.

The HIDACZ established at FOB Warhorse resulted in a sector of airspace that was user friendly, supported the tactical fight and allowed all users to maintain safe operations despite the dramatic increase in both manned and unmanned traffic.

The innovative use of this airspace control measure served as a combat multiplier for the ground force commander. With the 25th CAB's addition of a TAC Tower Team to a congested area, the ability of the ground unit to decisively engage and destroy the enemy increased significantly.

The use of the HIDACZ in this critical part of the MND-N battlespace precluded the use of more restrictive, but all too commonly used airspace control measure, the Restricted Operating Zone which blocks other users from utilizing the airspace.

ATS provided the responsiveness required to action on time sensitive targets, the ability to de-conflict both manned and unmanned aviation assets and finally provided the flexibility for both ground and aviation units to maximize the use of the limited air space resulting in the safe control of over 13,800 traffic counts in just over three months.

With the TAC Tower Team working side by side with a ground commander in the close fight, this innovative use of ATS offered a new level of air-ground integration.

• Date Taken: 12.14.2007
• Date Posted: 12.14.2007 16:54
• Story ID: 14713
• Location: BAQUBAH, IQ