How does the Air Force respond rapidly and effectively to situations arising anywhere, anytime, around the globe? One way it stays sharp is by predicting and practicing new methods of fighting wars in the future. That's the point of the biennial Joint Expeditionary Force eXperiment (JEFX).

Whether preparing troops for fighting in Afghanistan or peacekeeping in Kosovo, testing new equipment, technologies, and processes under fire in realistic, simulated wartime environments is essential for today's warfighter.

JEFX 2002, the fourth in a series of large-scale experiments, combined "live-fly" and simulation in a simultaneous warfighting environment in which warriors evaluated new operational concepts and technologies for application in the Joint Expeditionary Aerospace Force. This year, JEFX was aligned with a much larger joint-service experiment called Millennium Challenge 2002. Both the Millennium Challenge and JEFX were focused on "effects-based operations" - a strategy designed to produce desired effects in the battlespace. In this global experiment, the Air Force worked side by side with the Army, Navy and Marines to achieve the desired effects.

Experiments, such as JEFX and the Challenge, are fundamentally different from exercises. The main purpose of exercises is to train personnel in established procedures using fielded systems. Experimentation, on the other hand, is oriented towards exploring, analyzing, and repeating experimental trials so that improved capabilities can be delivered to warfighters in the field. Results from experimentation include recommendations on new concepts, tactics, techniques, procedures, technologies, and processes that the Air Force should invest in to expeditiously deliver evolutionary and revolutionary capabilities. In the case of JEFX, learning has been focused on developing a distributed and collaborative environment.

MITRE had a team of 20 on the ground during the JEFX '02 exercises supporting the sponsor. Members included (left to right) Joe Casias, Troy Van Caster, Bob Mikelskas, and John Woodward.

Team members work in the Integrated Satellite Communications Interference and Detection and Response van used during JEFX '02 to improve satellite communication link situational awareness. Left to right: MITRE's Dale Deniston, Joe Casias, and Troy Van Caster.

MITRE has played a critical role in JEFX since theexperiments began in 1998. "For example, as the JEFX systems architect in 1998, we worked with the Air Force and contractor teams to ensure decision-makers could synthesize and understand disparate information flooding into command and control centers," says Bob Lewis, MITRE's JEFX project leader. In supporting JEFX '02, MITRE built on knowledge gained from other experiments such as the small-scale Advanced Process and Technology Experiment held in 2001. In it, the Air Force explored ways to ensure the security of information shared among the United States and its allies in the Combined Aerospace Operations Center, which included NATO Coalition Forces from five other countries. Says Carmen Corsetti, MITRE's JEFX project manager, "Our system engineering experience, command and control expertise, and state-of-the-art application of information technology have brought a much-needed technical continuity to the JEFX program that is not available from other sources.

"MITRE's goal is to help the Air Force find quicker, more economical functions in its air operations environment," he added. "The Air Force happens to be in the business of flying planes and dropping bombs, and it needs to manage that process efficiently. JEFX has enabled the Air Force to train and experiment in combat-like fights, but in a more expedient, reliable, and less costly manner than in the past."

Bringing it all together

Preparing for a large event such as JEFX '02 takes more than a year. For example, the Air Force set up three practice "iterations" (or "spirals") in the six months leading up to the main event, which was held in late July and early August. While there were staff located around the country in support of JEFX '02, the center of Air Force activity was the Combined Aerospace Operations Center at Nellis Air Force Base outside of Las Vegas. During the event, more than 300 operators were in place at Nellis.

What was MITRE's role at these events? "At the highest level, we were responding to the Air Force Combatant Commander's effort to support the overall Joint Force Commander of the Millennium Challenge," says Corsetti. "Below that, we satisfied the requirements of JEFX '02. The Air Force's primary focus for this experiment was on exploring advanced processes and technologies needed to improve its time-critical targeting capabilities, its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance management, and its Combined Aerospace Operations Center operations. We looked at things such as: how expedient is someone in responding to and taking required actions against interruptions, such as jamming, while performing his or her own part of the experiment?"

Members of the MITRE team meet with Air Force staff during the Live Fly Exercise at Nellis Air Force Base.

"We had 20 staff members on the ground during the event, involved in communications, networks, system operations, collaboration, security, and training," adds Corsetti. "We worked hand in hand with our customers, 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. We brought the whole tactical communications environment with us-so we didn't have to dial up a telephone company. Team members provided a testing environment and infrastructure for the experiment, as well as modeling and simulation systems, which drove the experiment. For the live-fly portion of the event, we helped design the preflight testing and communicated with jets during their flights, helping to resolve any problems. Being on site helps us understand the environment in which the warfighter operates and the urgency to solve problems quickly in real-world situations. It also lets us see how we can make a difference in the prosecution of missions worldwide."

All in all, the MITRE team contributed more than 15 months of work to these large experiments. Preparations included designing and integrating new systems, testing practices and procedures, and providing training. MITRE people worked in teams with people from ESC, other military organizations, vendors, and civilians—everyone striving to meet the needs of JEFX.

There were many results from this event-both successes and lessons learned. The systems tested will increase the Air Force's ability to produce and execute air tasking orders; manage intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance assets; and prosecute time-critical targets. MITRE saw opportunities to make improvements in time-critical process techniques, and we immediately began applying these lessons in support of the warfighter—in the Aerospace Operations Center in Qatar, for instance.

One of the key results was a state-of-the-art Aerospace Operations Center that the MITRE team helped to design and build for JEFX '02. It integrated 60 infrastructure systems and 8 new initiative systems that were being tested. MITRE helped to ensure that all of these systems worked together during the experiment. The JEFX center will likely serve as a model for the next-generation Air Force Aerospace Operations Center.

—by Chris Twohig

Related Information

Technical Papers and Presentations

• Collaborative Operations in Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment (JEFX) 99

Websites

• Air Force: JEFX News

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