Tactical Air Control Party airmen will soon have new equipment that will make it easier for them to guide close air support strikes quickly, accurately, and safely. The small wearable computer, or SWC, fits into a pouch in a TACP’s body armor. Weighing in at only two pounds, it is more compact than the eight-pound laptops that these airmen now carry. The new device will allow them to operate more freely on dismounted patrols in the tough terrain of Afghanistan, according to officials at Hanscom AFB, Mass., who are involved in its development. The Air Force will field SWC once TACP close air support system software version 1.4.2 comes online. Airmen are currently training with the software. “It helps TACPs get aircraft on target faster and reduces the probability of human error,” said Rob Bubello, TACP modernization program manager. (Hanscom report by Chuck Paone)
A record investment in research and development by the Department of the Air Force will help the United States win the long-term technology race with China, even while shrinking the fleet size before a possible mid-decade Taiwan contingency, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said May 17. “With the Air Force,…