Marine Aviation Command and Control for the War Over the Horizon: The Marine Tactical Air Command Center in an A2AD Environment
Abstract
For the Tactical Air Command Center (TACC) to be survivable in a future operating environment characterized by anti-access and area-denial capabilities presented by peer competitors, the Marine Tactical Air Command Center must become a more geographically and physically distributed agency, able to modify its physical, electronic, and cyber signatures with the ambient operating environment, and become a more tactically mobile agency. The TACC is sound as an agency construct to facilitate centralized command for the Air Combat Element commander, and to decentralize control to the other Marine Air Command and Control System agencies, but its concept of employment must change to be survivable in an operating environment characterized by A2AD threats presented by peer competitors. Elements of a solution would include distributing TACC functionality both within A2AD threat areas, and outside threat areas, as well as utilizing rarely-used radio propagation techniques, introducing signature management as task the TACC must undertake, and adding tactical mobility to the agency. Survivability would be enhanced through dispersion of the agency across the operating environment, and managing the signature of the agency, thereby retaining the effectiveness of the agency while mitigating effects of enemy targeting efforts. The overall aim will be to decrease the targetability of the TACC, while increasing the resilience of its ability to conduct C2, and to communicate. The Marine Corps should immediately conduct tactical demonstrations and experiments to prove this improved TACC concept of employment in a simulated operating environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 02, 2019
- Accession Number
- AD1177306
Entities
People
- Nathaniel T. Lauterbach
Organizations
- Marine Corps University