Photo By Senior Airman Jasmine Barnes | Air traffic controllers assigned to the 23rd Operations Support Squadron perform...... read more read more
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MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- The 23rd Wing is one of the first Lead Wings to test a mobile remote virtual tower (RVT) designed to perform air traffic control operations in austere environments.
With this new technology, air traffic controllers will be able to fully operate without the need for permanent facilities at airfields that could potentially be targeted at deployed locations.
“Depending on how austere the (forward operating base) is and its proximity to the main operating base, the controllers could be miles away while providing full services from a safe location with only a minimal team on the ground providing maintenance support,” said Tech. Sgt. Curtis Lange, 23rd Operations Support Squadron assistant chief tower controller. “This technology supports the Lead-Wing concept through its long-term potential to have the camera array and computer systems that are used to provide images to the display screens loaded on an aircraft and rapidly deployed to any location in the world.”
The set-up process begins with loading the camera array trailer onto an aircraft to be taken to a FOB. Once the technology reaches the FOB, the tower is raised and the team begins identifying where the controllers and display screens will be located based on the security of the area.
Although this technology is still in the testing phase, there are possibilities for its effect on air traffic operations in the Air Force and other entities.
“This is groundbreaking technology and has the potential to alter how air traffic is controlled on a global scale,” Lange said. “We are excited and optimistic for the future and the impact that we at Moody Air Force Base will have on it as we test the viability of the system.”
The mobile RVT consists of a camera array on a trailer next to a tower that can be extended to the same height as the primary air traffic control tower. At the base of the tower sits three connected shipping containers, where the air traffic controllers receive feeds from the cameras and operate on computer monitors and air traffic control systems.
“Regarding the technology, we have monitors, 16 cameras that are giving us a 360-degree view from the tower, and eight thermal cameras,” said Master Sgt. Greg Cummings, U.S. Air Force Flight Standards Agency requirement manager. “We also have the ability to zoom in to where we can see just the airfield.”
Once Moody controllers provide their feedback regarding the capabilities of the RVT, agencies such as the AFFSA, Naval Information Warfare Center and Frequentist USA will begin upgrading and making modifications for its next test run. The U.S. Navy at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas, will be the next participants to test the technology.
| Date Taken: | 12.02.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 12.07.2021 10:58 |
| Story ID: | 410413 |
| Location: | MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 523 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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