U.S. and Poland continue to grow air defense powerhouse

 POLAND | 08.12.2020 | Story by Staff Sgt. Andrew Mallett  | 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command  

U.S. and Poland continue to grow air defense powerhouse

By Staff Sgt. Andrew Mallett

Brig. Gen. Gregory Brady, the commander of the 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, visited Poland on Aug. 11-12 at the request of Polish Col. Kazimierz Dynski, commander of the 3rd Surface to Air Defense Brigade, in order to facilitate the planning and execution of future exercises in the European theater.

The two countries will be conducting the Astral Knight 20 exercise in September. Astral Knight 20 is the second iteration of a U.S. Air Force led exercise intended to produce a valid theater-wide integrated air and missile defense architecture. The U.S. and Poland are focusing on reinforcing NATO deterrence measures and reassuring NATO Alliances and Partners of a combined tactical defense of Europe.

The U.S. and Poland will also be simultaneously participating in the Tobruq Legacy 20 exercise in Lithuania along with 11 other NATO Allies. Tobruq Legacy 20 is a multinational air defense exercise. Lithuania will both host and direct the exercise.

During the exercise U.S., allies and partners will safely deploy and redeploy all equipment and personnel to host nation country and establish a combined U.S. and European Surface based Air Defense. The exercise will enhance the combined U.S. and European task force’s ability to control defensive fires in central and Eastern Europe and refine the NATO kill chain. It will also enable the development of standard operating procedures. The purpose of this exercise is to enhance interoperability with NATO forces and increase readiness through the integration of land component air missile defense capabilities.

"A trained and ready alliance deters real threats.” Brady said. “Participation in Astral Knight 20 and Tobruq Legacy 20 enhances our professional relationships and interoperability with ally and partner militaries. It also allows us the opportunity to demonstrate air and missile defense mission command, while simultaneously executing these exercises in Poland and Lithuania. We are proud of our strong relationship with our Polish counterparts in the 3rd Surface to Air Defense Brigade who will also be receiving the Patriot system in the near future. We look forward to enhancing our air and missile defense capability, increasing security along NATO's eastern flank, and preserving peace."

The Polish Army will be receiving Patriot missile systems in the next two to five years, according to an article in Defense News. The purchase of American made air defense systems has been part of an initiative to deter threats from foreign adversaries. In 2018, President Duda announced a $4.75 billion deal to purchase and co-produce a mix of air and missile.

This visit has been part of an ongoing relationship to pursue enhancement of Poland’s overall air defense capabilities. Polish Soldiers assigned to the 37th Air Defense Squadron, 3rd Surface to Air Defense Brigade visited the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, 10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command in order to gain more understanding of the Patriot mid-range air and missile defense system and enhance their own training program on August 8-10, 2020 at the Baumholder Training Area, Germany.

“We have a long and proud history of friendship and partnership with the Polish air defense forces”, Lt. Col. Justin Logan, Commander of the 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, said. “We wanted to take advantage of current training to continue to build and strengthen our partnership.”

Polish and American integration into the battalion has been a valuable tool in continued learning for everyone involved, Logan explained. Training, logistics, and maintenance operations improve drastically when multinational soldiers can collaborate.

“We are excited to reach the highest level of interoperability as we can with the U.S.” Polish Army Capt. Daniel Pyza, assigned to the 37th Air Defense Squadron, said. “We want to obtain wisdom and experience as much as we can while we are here. We have always had great cooperation, and this is a continuation of that relationship.”

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ADA,USAREUR,USArmy,10th Army Air and Missile Defense Command,USArmyEurope,European Defenders,5-7 ADAR

G/ATOR: The All-In-One Radar System

 20 August 2020|AIR DEFENSE SYSTEM, AIR FORCE, DEFENSE TECH, NETWORK/CYBER SECURITY, SPACE FORCE

MCAS MIRAMAR | CA | UNITED STATES | 08.19.2020 | Story by Lance Cpl. Julian Elliott-Drouin  | 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing  

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. – (August 19, 2020) Out with the old, in with the new. The U.S. Marine Corps presents a single source solution to its multi-role radar system and ground weapons locating radar requirements with the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar. The G/ATOR will provide enhanced expeditionary capabilities and will replace legacy radar system, the AN/TPS-59, after Sept. 30, 2020.

“The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR will fill the void that the 59 will leave and enable Marine Air Control Squadron’s across the Marine Corps to accomplish their mission of command and control,” said Gunnery Sgt. Jeffery Tracy, a radar chief with Marine Air Control Squadron (MACS) 1.

The AN/TPS-59 radar system was fielded in 1985 and upgraded to (V)3 in 1998, by adding the TBM (Tactical Ballistic Missile) capability. “The AN/TPS-59(V)3 was used during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, providing both the MAGTF commander and the joint commander with a complete air picture to include fixed and rotary wing aircraft as well as theater ballistic missiles,” said Tracy.

The AN/TPS-59 has been used in various joint training operations throughout the pacific to include Australia, Thailand, South Korea, Tinian, Guam and the Philippines. With the Marine Corps upgrading its radar systems, the final decision was made in late 2019 to retire the AN/TPS-59 for the AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR.

The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR’s primary function is air surveillance. It will allow Marine Air Ground Task Force (MAGTF) commanders enhanced capabilities to detect and track adversary aircraft, cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, rockets, mortars, artillery, and air traffic control functions.

“The AN/TPS-80 G/ATOR will provide us with a much more expeditionary asset, bringing setup and teardown to less than 30 minutes,” said Tracy. “The setup requires a crew of four Marines to accomplish while the AN/TPS-59 would require a crew of approximately 10 and range from four to eight hours for full setup and operation.”

Marines with 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing will have a highly mobile, multipurpose tool that will help commanders track threats in the air and on the ground and will enhance the Marine Corps’ effectiveness and lethality on the battlefield.

3rd MAW continues to “Fix, Fly and Fight” as the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft wing, and remains combat-ready, deployable on short notice, and lethal when called into action.

Tags,IMEF,3rd MAW,MACS-1