The system, consisting of five aircraft, operates from
Sigonella air base in Sicily
Sections of the Force, such as flight
safety, tactics and training.
The main mission of the sensor
operators is to operate the radar of the
unmanned aircraft, but they also have
other tasks in the different Sections of
the unit. “Pilot and operator make up a
close-knit team that has to be perfectly
coordinated and synchronised for the
success of the mission”, says sensor
operator, Air Force Sergeant Manuel
EMAD
consists of producing intelligence data
based on the ground data captured
by the Phoenix. Manufactured by
Northrop Grumman and based on the
U.S. Air Force Global Hawk, NATO’s
unmanned aircraft provides advanced
range and airborne performance and
is equipped with a powerful radar
sensor providing a vast quantity of
optimal quality data. The Force took
delivery of the fifth and final aircraft
at its Naval Air Station Sigonella in
Sicily on 12 November, marking a new
milestone in the Allied programme.
Actually, the importance of the
Allied Ground Surveillance (AGS)
Force lies precisely in the fact that
it has become an organic capability
of the Atlantic Alliance in the field
of ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance
and Reconnaissance) since, until its
establishment, NATO depended on
the willingness of its member states
to provide data collection assets and
share their intelligence reports. The
AGS system thus complements the
AWACS (Airborne Warning and
Control System), responsible for
monitoring and controlling movements
in the airspace.
Furthermore, the AGS system
provides the Alliance —and member
states requiring it— with great mission
versatility. Due to its characteristics
and design, it can stay airborne for
long periods of time observing and
monitoring movements on the ground,
and is flexible enough to easily move
from place to place, as required at
any given time. All this, together
with the capacity to analyse real time
information, enables this Force to
act in support of all decision-making
levels, whether strategic, operational
or tactical. It can also be employed in
military operations and in support of
crises, emergencies or natural disasters.
FLYING SQUADRON
The AGS force, besides being a
combined unit —with members from
different nations— is also a joint force,
since it is made up of military members
from all three services. In the case of
Spain, of the 20 men and women in
uniform stationed at Sigonella, 17 are
from the Spanish Air Force, two from
the Navy and one from the Army,
distributed among the main areas of
the Force: flights, communications,
ISR, expeditionary capability and
sustainment.
Major Álvaro García (pilot) and Sergeant Manuel Campanario (sensor operator) form a
perfectly coordinated team for the success of the mission.
The so-called Flying Squadron
(FLS) not only comprises pilots but
also sensor operators. The Spanish
workforce is made up of four pilots —
three from the Air Force and one from
the Navy— as well as two operators
from the Air Force. “We are ready
to operate the RQ-4D Phoenix at the
appropriate level in any of the missions
assigned to the unit”, says Major
Álvaro García, an Air Force fighter
pilot and one of the FLS pilots. He also
has other tasks related to the different
Campanario. He also adds that there
is a continuous conversation in the
cockpit between the two of them,
in particular in the data collection
phase. “The pilot must inform the
operator of every turn, every change
in flight parameters so that the latter
can calculate and operate the radar
properly; and, vice versa, the sensor
operator must coordinate the data
collection plan with the pilot so that
the latter can optimize the aircraft’s
route”, explains Sergeant Campanario.
April 2021 Revista Española de Defensa 19