GPS at War

MI Abrams tanks race across Iraq. Photo by Doc Shruer

GPS quickens Victory in Gulf War

Coalition forces used new technology to rapidly flank Iraqi positions in a trackless desert.  “Iraq went from the fourth-largest army in the world to the second-largest army in Iraq in 100 hours”  Lieutenant General Tom Kelly

By Jack W. Peters

Persian Gulf 1991,  Sixteen of the now 24 satellites were in place in the fledgling Navstar system poised to make military history.  The Department of Defense’s longtime project to improve battlefield navigation had its debut, helping win the war and successfully introduce GPS to the public.

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Superior navigation allowed for a rapid flanking maneuver, taking the Iraqis by surprise.  After an eight-year war with Iran, the Iraqis were experienced fighters and knew their desert. Their home field advantage quickly diminished as they found their forward-facing fortified positions attacked and destroyed from behind.  Captured Iraqi officers admitted they did not guard against a rear attack because they knew how difficult it is to navigate in the desert, and did not believe the Americans could do it. 

For a short campaign, the damage inflicted was staggering.  Iraq lost an estimated !00,000 troops with 300,000 wounded compared to 148 American troops with 458 wounded.  Losses were equally staggering in all other categories including the loss of 5,856 Iraqi tanks and armored vehicles compared to 13 by the U.S.  “NAVSTAR GPS played a key role and has many applications in all functional war-fighting areas.  Land navigation was the biggest beneficiary, giving Coalition Forces a major advantage over the Iraqi” (Dept. of Defense Report to Congress, “Conduct of the Persian Gulf War, April 1992).

Another advantage to the technology is reducing the amount of “Friendly Fire” casualties.  Military units had a much better understanding of where they were positioned in relationship to enemy locations.  This allowed them to better direct their fire to more precise locations.  Reducing the natural confusion of battle helps prevent instances of friendly fire, although approximately 24 percent of the American losses were a result of our troops being accidentally killed by their own.  This unfortunately high percentage may have been reduced considerably if all units had the benefit of GPS.

After the war, the U.S. Army announced it would install GPS in all of its armored vehicles including the M1 Abrams tanks and the Bradley fighting vehicles.  It was obvious that commanders who had the equipment were much less likely to become off-course which greatly increases the chance of becoming a casualty.  “GPS was a godsend for ground troops traversing the desert, especially in the frequent sand storms…and at night…Tank crews and drivers of all sorts of vehicles swore by the system” (Air Force Magazine, August 1991).

U.S. Army troops display captured Iraqi small arms from a bunker in Northern Kuwait.  Photo courtesy of Larry from Oklahoma

GPS reduces “Friendly Fire”

Nearly a quarter of the 148 US. Troop deaths in the Gulf War were a result of ‘fratricide,’ the official term used to describe friendly fire.  To put the tragedy in prospective, the number of deaths is low considering there were hundreds of thousands of coalition ground troops deployed, but the percentage is still unfortunately high.

Combat on an unfamiliar battlefield by its nature is confusing.  Deadlier weapons used in greater numbers at a closer proximity. Weapons are also more capable of striking at a greater range, making it more difficult to distinguish friendly from unfriendly.  It is no wonder that mistakes are made and lives are taken by the same side. The U.S. Military as well as other military leaders are utilizing newer technology to help eliminate this problem.

The good news is that Gulf War units that utilized GPS had a much better understanding of where they were positioned in relationship to enemy locations.  This allowed them to better direct their fire to more precise locations and helped prevent them from becoming lost.  61% percent of Gulf War fratricide resulted from ground-to-ground combat mistakes.  Using GPS to reduce the confusion of battle helps prevent instances of friendly fire.  “Friendly fire incidents most often were caused by armored unit commanders who were lost in a featureless Iraqi desert or were out of position during ground attacks” (Frontline, The Gulf War).

The Department of Defense has been involved in combat identification technology since 1996.  Promising technologies that include GPS are being tested by such agencies as the Battlespace Identification Branch at the Army Communications and Electronics Command, Fort Monmouth, N.J.  Engineers and other technical experts examine what new technology which could help reduce the friendly fire problem.

These new technologies include a “Don’t shoot me” systems that use GPS and other technologies to broadcast signals that friendly forces respond back to.  This also includes situational awareness systems that provide periodic updates of position data to maintain tracking on friendly forces.  These systems are relatively small and can to fitted to U.S. and allied force vehicles.

The benefits of these positioning and radio signal systems are that they work beyond visual range, through poor weather, and through the smoke and dust of battle.  McKean from the U.S. Atlantic Command in Norforlk, VA. stated, “I think it would be very hard, if not impossible, to eliminate fratricide, but we can reduce it significantly and, at the same time improve our combat effectiveness.”

Oil fires burning N. of Camp Monterey    Photo by Todd D. Lightfoot

As printed in Popular Science, July 2000 - click for larger image

F-16 from the 555^th Fighter Squadron based in Italy

The rescue of Capt. Scott O’Grady

Bosnia-Herzegovina June1995,  A Serb ground-to-air missile shot down the F-16 of then 30 year old Captain O’Grady a.k.a. (Basher Five-Two).  O’Grady was assigned to the 555^th Fighter Squadron in Aviano, Italy to support the NATO “no fly zone” over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

By Jack W. Peters

June 2^nd Captain O’Grady successfully ejected from his destroyed F-16 to parachute down somewhere south of the Bosnian city of Banja Luke.  The next six days he spent cold and hungry, as he hid from armed unfriendlies.  He got to test what he learned in survival training the doing some serious E and Eing (Escape and Evading).  As he avoided capture and attempted to maintain body heat and hydration, the important things in life crystallized.  He refers to the situation as “the most positive experience of my life.”  To stay alive he ate ants, grass and leaves, and drank muddy water by filtering it through his socks.  “What got me through this experience boiled down the three things,” states O’Grady.  “Faith in God, my family and friends, and…faith in my Country.”

Capt. Scott O’Grady in Aviano, Italy after being rescued after six days of escape and evading in the Bosnia countryside.  He contributes the rescues success to his faith in God, the courage of his Marine and Navy rescuers, and his Trimble GPS unit which he referred to as his “Guiding Light.”  Photo by Sgt. Stephen Alderete

An American pilot with a little extra fuel stayed in the air a little longer still scanning the radio frequency used by O’Grady the day he was shot down.  After six days of no positive radio contact, the pilot started hearing some strange clicks over the radio.  The Radio signal was week, but O’Grady recognized the pilot and called him by name.  This signal was received two hours before dawn.  A decision had to be made to wait until the next evening to for a night operation, or immediately proceed with a riskier daylight extraction.  There will be no waiting as a “SEAD package” rescue team was assembled.

The Marine and Navy team was in the air at 0400.  O’Grady’s position was confirmed with the use of his hand-held Trimble GPS receiver which her referred to as his “Guiding Light.”  Radio contact was made every 15 minutes as rescue helicopters were closing in.  They verified his ID by asking what he was called in high school when he got drunk.  As the choppers approached, O’Grady popped a smoke grenade.  The rescue team was incredibly excited considering they thought he was dead.  The actual pick up was the longest ten minutes of their lives.

“SAMS in the air! SAMS in the air!”  The escort chopper pilot blared over the radio.  These are the same anti-aircraft missiles that took down O’Grady’s jet.  Fortunately they missed.  At the same time they were also taking small arms fire.  The escort chopper gunner returned fire as they fled to safety.  A collective sigh of relief must have been heard as they returned to the ship. 

On June 12^th, four days after the rescue, a welcome home ceremony was held in Washington DC.  This included the President and Gen. Shalikashvili, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as 500 other attendees.  A humble Capt. O’Grady said, “ I just can’t believe the response.  It’s just overwhelming…it’s the rescuers who deserve the fanfare.”  Defense Secretary William Perry said, “ The True grit is obvious to the entire country—it was the courage and skill demonstrated by Captain O’Grady.  They shot his plane down, but not his spirit.”

O’Grady is now a best selling author from his books Return with Honor, and a children’s book named after his call sign Basher Five-Two.  He continues to serve in the Air Force Reserves until November 2001.

Air Force now uses a Talon Hook   UHF/GPS combination radio American pilots now use the Talon Hook which is both a UHF FM radio and a GPS receiver.  Its radio signal is encrypted to prevent the bad guys from listening in.  The GPS receiver is accurate to the radius of a chopper’s rotor blades. F-14 Tomcat’s night take off     Photo by C.Jeff Dyrek

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