Radio comm detectors at the Platoon and Company level?

amrcg

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Hi!

Does any of you know if there are radiofrequency communication detectors being employed (or plans to employ them in the future) at the Platoon and Company level?
Note: By "radiofrequency communication detector" I mean some sort of device that is able to scan a range of frequencies and detect an emission, providing info about the frequency, bearing and strength of the signal. This could be useful e.g. to detect enemy activity in poor visibility conditions (e.g. woods).

Best regards,
Antonio
 

Pat Proctor

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amrcg said:
Hi!

Does any of you know if there are radiofrequency communication detectors being employed (or plans to employ them in the future) at the Platoon and Company level?
Note: By "radiofrequency communication detector" I mean some sort of device that is able to scan a range of frequencies and detect an emission, providing info about the frequency, bearing and strength of the signal. This could be useful e.g. to detect enemy activity in poor visibility conditions (e.g. woods).

Best regards,
Antonio

In the US Army, the lowest echelon that has this capability is the brigade combat team, which receives a MI company which has radio signal direction finders and jammers. I think it also brings ground surveillance radar to the fight.

These assets are sometimes cut to maneuver battalions, but I cannot recall a time when I have ever seen THIS asset cut to a company.

The new Stryker brigade does not have this capability at the company level, either. I don't know if there are plans to add it in the future.
 

kbluck

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What Pat said.

However, Stryker's focus on information technology is pointing the way to a new practical reality; although the detection equipment itself is at brigade and higher echelons, the data generated by that equipment will eventually be disseminated in near real-time to any unit that might find it useful, and displayed in a way that is of immediate tactical use to those fighters. For example, an icon might suddenly appear in the monocle display of a nearby platoon leader to highlight the location of a hidden transmitter, while simultaneously a fire mission is dumped into a supporting artillery battery's database, immediately ready to fire on his command. So, there eventually will be no practical difference from having the equipment co-located with every single squad.

To get really far out with my speculation, I think a direct neural interface is a real possibility in our lifetimes. The line between what you know and what your computer knows will be completely indistinct. There will be no flashing arrow; you'll simply all of a sudden just know that there is a transmitter in that grove of trees, and exactly where it is, as if you had known it your whole life. We'll likely see this sort of thing first in the air force for pilots, who are relatively small in number, highly trained, and who have a greater than usual need for instantaneous situational awareness.

All this, of course, is not a current reality. But, you didn't really think the DoD was really buying $1,000 toilet seats and $300 hammers, did you?

--- Kevin
 

amrcg

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Radio detectors

Could you please point me to some Web resources or FMs that deal with that sort of unit/equipment and their employment scenarios and techniques/tactics?

Best regards,
Antonio
 

Pat Proctor

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I assume you are talking about the MI Comany (MICO) collectors and jammers and not the DOD's top secret brain probe... ;)

Here are a few manuals:

FM 34-1, INTELLIGENCE AND ELECTRONIC WARFARE OPERATIONS, 27 SEP 1994

http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/34-1/toc.htm

FM 34-2, COLLECTION MANAGEMENT AND SYNCHRONIZATION PLANNING

http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/34-2/toc.htm

FM 34-45, TACTICS, TECHNIQUES, AND PROCEDURES FOR ELECTRONIC ATTACK

http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/34-45/toc.htm

and FM 34-80, BRIGADE AND BATTALION INTELLIGENCE AND ELECTRONIC WARFARE OPERATIONS, 15 APR 1986

http://www.adtdl.army.mil/cgi-bin/atdl.dll/fm/34-80/toc.htm

It appears that all of the actual technical manuals for the equipment are not for public distribution. However, I did find:

This is the hand receipt TM for the TLQ-17A3 radio jammer:

https://www.logsa.army.mil/etms/data/A/069468.pdf

This is the hand receipt TM for the TRQ-32, the radio collector:

https://www.logsa.army.mil/etms/data/A/063074.pdf

These have lists and pictures of the components of the system.
 
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