ATC, Flight Ops & FC Info

In November I went to RAF Shawbury for an ATC base visit and then in December I went to RAF Boulmer for an FC base visit. Whilst there, I took a few notes from the presentations they gave us and thought I'd post them on here.

Air Traffic Control, Shawbury

Central Air Traffic Control School
-Training terminal for ATC Controllers (Terminal = Airfield)
-Training Area Radar Controllers
-Trainng Flight Ops

Course is 27 wks
Train RAF, RN, Commonwealth & Army Ass - arounf 600 students per year

Military ATC
Terminal ATC
-Radar position - director/zone/approach
-Some officers graduate very quickly to become supervisors

Swanick centre
-Civillians work here

Joint Air Traffic Control Course (JATCC) outline
-16 students per year
-New course starts about every 8 weeks
-27 wk duration
-gain accredititaion towards civilian ATC licence now
-mix of RAF, RN, foreign & Commonwealth Officers and SNCOs

VISSIM - simulator - amazing facility - whole room that is a simulator of an Air Traffic Control Tower

Radar Building Phase (majority of course, 3 phases - alternate between day learning & day practicals)
Area Radar Training - huge area range being monitored (i.e. Yorkshire & South UK)

Out of Area, Oppotunites, etc
50% of ATCs in Basrah went out as soon as they finished their training
Also in Kabul, Afghanistan - more going this year
ATC was one of the first branches to be posted to Basrah
-without military ATC, Basrah would not be open!

Tactical ATC
-In field, setting up landing strips, fixed wing, Hercs, transport

Airspace Controller (combat)
-see missiles, artillery, aircraft

"When out of area, you will be shot at & mortared - element of danger - part of military!"

Flight Operations
-Part of Opps Support Branch
-One of the smaller specialisations
-Provide manpower to plan, manage & maintain RAF Ops in peace & war

Flight Ops Training Course (FOTC)
-Station operations
-Max 9 students
-ensure the right people know the right info at the right time
-14 wks
-3 courses pa

-Lots of theory; meterology, performance characteristics of aircraft, principles of flight, officer training
-3 phases od Simulation -1 instructor Led, 1 tutorial & 1 assessed
-20-45 hours of sims
-course not been validadted since 1997 so currently under review (Trainng Needs Analysis)
-RITC (Resources & Initiative Training Centre)
-discover strengths and bond
-Theory, admin, visits, simulation, shadowing, 2 exams, presentations (military related topics), 1 day out door activities
-4 instructors
-Cover ground based air defence, flight planning
-Run "RAF Cottam" (Sp?) - used to be real base, now just 'virtual' - used for training
-Looking at big picture - who needs to know & what?
-In job will be giving daily briefs to aircrew
-Ops brief - radars working, etc
-Set PT programme
-Force Development training

-Once qualified Station Ops, work with aircrew to help plan mission - can influence its success
-Monitor & update daily flying programme (continuous)
-Liase with other agencies (internal & external)
-Deal with emergencies, incidents and accidents
-Monitor weather
-Responsible for mission plaaning inc.
-flight plans - must be up to date for aircrews - becoming more
technology based

Out of Area
-after 18 mths do out of area - Basrah, Gulf, fawklands, RN (particularly with Harriers on)

TNA Results
-increase exam pass mark
-Introduce met exam
-Deployed Ops sims package (living in a field!)
-Accreditation of course (BA logistics management)
-Table Top SH/AT/Maritime/ISTAR planning exercise
-ATO (USA Air Task Order)/ACO (Air Co-ord. Order)/SPINS & battlespace Mgmt

After completed spec. training: type specific training (SH/AT/FJ), training support teams, OOA pre-employment package

ATC - is getting aircraft from A to B
FO - more general, Army, Helicopters, etc

Fighter Control - School of Fighter Control
-RAF is the first force where FCs trained seperately from ATCs
-Part of Opp Support Branch

History
-First Op Radar 1939/40 to protect UK during Battle of Britain
-needed people to plot position of our aircraft to intercept German
aircraft
-aircraft need to be airborne 24 hours a day as no AEW
-Bently Priory (?) used to be main Ops room
-Cold war - FCs were grounded pilots for the first two years when the role developed so the RAF started recruiting FCs
-Cold War 1945 -1989 - Soviet aircraft fly around UK to test our capabilities
-intercept aircraft, tankers from Brieze might be scrambled, our jets
shadow soviet aircraft
-RAF FC system designed to withstand bombings so could continue command and control
-Russian aircraft are still monitored by FCs today, part of job
-Radars of the 70s and 80s had a 300-400 mile range
-Americans tested our radars by jamming them and our radars fried their
equipment!
-Type 93 & 100 (deployable) radars are the modern types, most commonly used and transportable

-UK ASACS - static UK Air defence
-FCs carry out NATO function - NATO have direct control of what FCs do
-Air Policing Area 9 - biggest area to policy in NATO - extends up to
Iceland
-each country is allocated area to police - what ever happens, it is that
countries responsibilty
-8 main radar sites - no FCs here, Saxa Vord no longer so now 7!
-RRH Benbecula
-RRH Staxton Wold
-RRH Buchan
-RRH Neatishead
-RRH Portheath
-RRH Faeroes (Danish Run)
-CRC Boulmer ( i think... please confirm?)
-National Air Traffic Radars (NATS Radars) - 8 of these - civvie
-NATS and Mil.Radars help build RAP - recognised air picture
-All NATO countries talk to each other, so aircraft can be traced right across all NATO airspace
-Post Cold war very little threat to UK then Sept 11th happened...
- bought job back to forefront of Military
-FCs are UKs defence against 9/11 style attacks
-FCs also support out of area ops

Example of exercise: RAF hired virgin passanger jet, flew it to the US, refulled then flew back. Outside Cornwall, simulated being hijacked, FCs had to react and pilots scrambled - only told at last minute was an exercise

Quick Reaction Alert - QRA
-Constant surveillance and control of QRA required to discharge responsibity for APA 9
-heightened activity since 9/11
-react to lost comms on aircraft on almost daily basis

Air defence assets FCs use to defend UK airspace
-Leuchars - Tornado F3s
-Leeming
-Conigsby - detachment of F3s
-Brieze - Tankers
-Waddington - E3D

Ops Room Structure
Master Controller
\/
fighter allocator Surviellance director
\/ \/
fighter marshal \/
\/ \/
weapons controllers Identification Officers

Training
-RAFC College Cranwell - IOT - 30wks
-Air Defence Foundation Course - RAF Boulmer - approx 8 people on course
-surveillance - 3 wks/10 console sessions
-weapons - 3 wks/12 console sessions
-after this, streamed weapons, surveillance or sent back to Cranwell
for reselection

Weapons
-control of Airborne assets
-air defence - interception
-force marshaller
-AWACS control & liason
-interception
-ATC
-Tactical control
-tanking
-4 v 4
-takes around 7months to complete - can take up to 1 yr to pass course
-can take 2-3 years to become combat ready

-100sqn have Hawks dedicated to FC(W) training
-lots of different airspaces used
-weather can delay training
-when live assets not available, sim used

-THEORY/Human Computer Interface (HCI)/SIM/LIVE TRAINING

-Leave training with CQ

Surveillance
-RAP
-Datalinks & Coms mgmt - talkative
-Airspace Mgmt & Control
-Electronic Warfare - jamming - can be white noise, random recordings, own voice played back to you
-Radar & systems supervisor - aware of system issues - clutter, etc - not so much IDO, more surveillance director

- THEORY/HCI/SIM/LIVE TRAINING

-Theory - basics, AD, Radar
-HCI - UKASACS
-Sim - consolidation of HCI training - sim on live pic or may go live immediately
-Live training - NW corner of airspace and move onto busier areas - i.e South

Force Development Training - 2 weeks - adventure training, exercises - build on core skills from cranwell

Tours
-Tour length 2 1/2 - 3 yrs,
-1st tour at CRC Boulmer
-1st, 2nd & poss 3rd tour training - after can go into planning i.e Basrah Op Telic, Op Shock & Awe - where the E3s, tanks operating, etc
-FCs - JFAC - more involved in out-of-area Ops role -data link, liason officer - allocate assets to army

Will finish later, sorry for time its taking!

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