May 14, 2007

Army Praises ODIN



It is interesting how six months and a hearty roles and missions debate can get the military talking. In October, U.S. Army officials declined to discuss the secretive "Task Force ODIN." They confirmed it existed, but wouldn't say what it was. We reported in Aviation Week & Space Technology Oct. 30, 2006 that the specialized task force of sensors and airborne assets was being formed to tackle the problematic issue of detecting improvised explosive devices from the air.

It seems the Army is ready to tout the task force's early successes. And it is no coincidence that Army is being loose-lipped now. The service is, after all, in an all-out defensive posture against USAF Chief of Staff Gen. T. Michael "Buzz" Moseley's not-so-subtle attempt to take over procurement of and operational management of all UAV's flying over 3,500 ft.

So, the pressure is on and Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody is taking to the air waves – at least with a group of tecchie trade reporters that assembled for his press briefing during last week's annual Army Aviation Assn. of America conference in Atlanta.

Cody unveiled a video tape – declassified for the press briefing -- of what he says is an example of responsive reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition (RSTA) processes in Iraq resulting from the knitting together of the elusive Task Force ODIN recce assets and the tried and true Apache attack helicopter. (We asked for the video, but the Army's not releasing it yet, fearing it could fall into the wrong hands, it seems).

Though he declined to identify all asset parts of ODIN, he confirmed our earlier report of modified C-12s, fixed-wing UAVs and other sensors.

The video opens with a group of individuals – deemed insurgents - displayed in the Apache's forward-looking infrared sensor. They are grouped along a known Army convoy route in Iraq, the general says. The insurgents are within audible range of the helicopter and take shelter under nearby palm trees, though they are clearly visible in the infrared. The Apache, having been spotted, returns to base to refuel.

The targets, however, are handed off to an Army Shadow and Block 0 Warrior – a much less capable variant of the soon-to-be produced ERMP Predator variant. At this point, officials in the Tactical Operations Center witness the individuals planting suspected IEDs. Upon target confirmation, an Apache is dispatched to the location with precision coordinates and engages the individuals with its Hellfire missiles.

The explosion on the infrared is large, the result of a direct hit by the Hellfire to the IED, Cody says. The individuals disperse, and Cody switched the video off before the Apache attacks them directly with gunfire. The net result of the engagement: an Army convoy was rerouted to avoid the hostile activity as the Apache engaged.

The key, Cody says, is the direct video feed from the Warrior that relays the entire engagement to the TOC and provides instant battle damage assessment. The kinetic portion of the engagement lasted less than 5 mins, he adds, including damage assessment.


this is part of an article written by Amy Butler