433rd flightline first with new security

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jonathan Simmons
  • 433rd Airlift Wing
LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  The flight line of 433rd Airlift Wing became safer Feb. 2  when a trail was conducted for a brand new application of Doppler Radar technology here.

Lackland’s flight line areas at the 433rd AW and the Texas Air National Guard’s 149th Fighter Wing will be the first sites in the Air Force to employ, on a trial basis, the new Mobile Detection and Assessment System. 

If successful in trials, this new application could help secure areas of all protection levels throughout the Air Force. The MDAS is a USAF Security Forces Center project designed to enhance long and short range force protection levels without costly infrastructure requirements. 

“The system is composed of three major components,” said Mr. Thomas Yeager, Jr., chief of the Requirements Branch of AFSFC. “The plan is to use three trailer-mounted and one vehicle mounted Perimeter Surveillance Radar Systems one trailer mounted Advanced Radar Surveillance System and a trailer-mounted Man-Portable Surveillance and Target Acquisition Radar.” 

The PSRS provides short-range detection capability with a range equivalent to about 3 football fields, while the MSTAR and ARSS provide long-range capability through about 12 kilometers depending on terrain. Together, these components are expected to provide perimeter intruder alerts and early detection of suspicious ground objects on approach.

“The radars can be programmed to mask out areas of routine activity like nearby highways and high traffic working areas,” said Mr. Yeager.

The main advantages of this system over the current ‘cops only’ system are the long-range, early-detection ability and greater ability to detect objects at night. The devices are connected by encrypted radio frequency and no costly hardwiring is required.
 
“Using radio frequency will save a great deal of money as opposed to breaking ground to place wires and other permanent infrastructure,” said Mr. Yeager. “The savings should be about 50 percent.” 

The equipment will be operated by the 37th Security Forces Squadron. “The trial at Lackland is expected to last about 20 days,” said Tech. Sgt. David Hale, 37th SFS. “During that time we’ll test its sensitivity including how it reacts to aircraft on the ground.”
If MDAS performs successfully in the Lackland trial it may undergo regression testing and will undergo formal testing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., before Air Force-wide implementation.