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Technology lends to protection of Airfield

  • Published
  • By Capt. Penny Carroll
  • 451st AEW Public Affairs
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan --  Protecting Kandahar Airfield assets and personnel is a huge responsibility which falls on the shoulders of all commanders and leaders here. Their ability to keep the base safe helps the rest of us sleep at night. For the past several years, one of the essential instruments of the force protection program which leadership taps into here has been TASS capabilities.

The Tactical Automated Security System is a very robust and mobile integrated electronic security system that can be adapted for use in a wide variety of applications. As an Air Force asset, TASS provides intrusion detection and surveillance for fixed site airbases, forward operating bases and can be used in rapidly changing, tactical deployments, such as securing aircraft and personnel in non-traditional locations. It incorporates sensors, thermal imaging cameras and radars to detect perimeter threats.

Mr. Valentin Birklareanu, Northrup Grumman TASS program manager, explained the contractor's role in the fight for protecting bases in southwest Asia. "We'll go to Air Force bases and secure them by putting in perimeter cameras, installing infrared cameras and sensors which will then be monitored in the base operations center."

Anecdotally, Birklareanu discussed the flexibility of the capabilities of TASS as he described its use throughout southwest Asia in recent years at fixed airbases; however, this technology has been around since before 9-11 and used for other tactical or unexpected instances of secure perimeter necessity. "We've successfully set up a secure perimeter around aircraft in austere environments before in around 30 minutes."

Operating 24-hours a day to provide a vast perspective of the large NATO installation, the integration of this technology with other forms of force protection at Kandahar Airfield, such as ground patrols, provides a much greater security impact with a complete picture of potential threats in real-time.

The equipment is an Air Force asset, therefore the system here falls under the auspices of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing. The wing is in charge of oversight of the system installation and maintenance. The system is monitored by joint expeditionary tasked security airmen who work around the clock.

Staff Sgt. Jacob Treml, 451st TASS monitor, said, "TASS is a force multiplier because we have sensors around the entire airfield. The sensors main purpose is to detect and deter unauthorized individuals and send an alarm to the JDOC (joint defense operations center)."

"If an alarm is triggered, the camera moves and is seen in the JDOC," he explained. After assessing the cause of the alarm, the operator may dispatch a patrol to the sight of the alarm.

The system can also be used to detect threats off-base but approaching the fenceline. The cameras and sensors are tied in to a radar picture of a larger perimeter outside the actual base compound which can be used to assess situations such as local and third party nationals coming into and leaving the base.

This technological capability has been used very effectively in Iraq and Afghanistan where early detection of insurgents is critical to personnel and asset security. This force protection system never rests and assists commanders in making decisions, while allowing the rest of us to sleep better knowing there remains a constant eye on the KAF perimeter.