An AC-130U Gunship flies a local training mission Jan. 27, 2011, over Hurlburt Field, Fla.

An AC-130U Gunship flies a local training mission Jan. 27, 2011, over Hurlburt Field, Fla. U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock

How a Poorly Rigged Antenna Contributed to Kunduz Hospital Strike

AFSOC commander describes new drones, training, and gear could prevent future deadly mistakes.

A Ku-band antenna that had been “scabbed” onto an AC-130U gunship failed to transmit video on the morning of Oct. 3 during a mission in Kunduz, Afghanistan, contributing to a tragedy in which more than 30 people died, Air Force Special Operations Command Gen. Bradley Heithold said on Thusday.  

Malfunctioning gear had already been fingered by Gen. John Campbell, who issued a Nov. 25 statement on the airstrike that destroyed a Doctors Without Borders hospital.   “During the flight, the electronic systems onboard the aircraft malfunctioned, preventing the operation of an essential command and control capability and eliminating the ability of the aircraft to transmit video, send/receive email, or send/receive electronic messages,” the report reads, in part. “Confusion was exacerbated by the lack of video and electronic communications between the headquarters and the aircraft, caused by the earlier malfunction,” it continues.

On Thursday at an Association of Old Crows gathering in Washington, D.C., for the first time, Heithold went into more detail on what exactly went wrong on the AC-130.

“Today, we pump full-motion video into the airplane and out of the airplane. So we have a Ku-band antenna on the airplane … the U-model. It’s sort of scabbed on. In fact, we had some problems with it recently on a mission in Afghanistan where it didn’t work. I wish it had been working,” Heithold said. “On our current legacy airplanes, the solution we used was rather scabbed on: take the overhead escape hatch out, put an antenna on, stick it back up there, move the beams around. We’ve had some issues, but we’re working with our industry partners to resolve that issue.”

He added, “99.9 percent of the time we’ve had success with it. These things aren’t perfect; they’re machines.”

Heithold said that dedicated Ku-band data transfer is now standard on later models of the AC-130, which should make data transfer much more reliable. “If you’re looking at an AC-130J, for instance, you’ll see a bump in the area just above the co-pilot. That is a built-in Ku-band capability to move information into and out of the airplane, primarily full-motion video … The AC-130W? It’s built in. The AC-130J? It’s built in. It’s going to be much more reliable than the case of our legacy airplanes,” in Kunduz, he said.

The technological problems Campbell describes in his report stand in stark contrast to the way information and data processing are supposed to work on an AC-130. Ideally, in a situation like the one that played out on Kunduz, its crew can  see and transmit full-motion video data from the plane’s battle management center, or BMC. When the BMC is working properly, the Joint Operations Center, or JOC, is able to see what the gunship is targeting via the video-feed. Combat air controllers or soldiers on the ground can also see what’s happening via small, handheld tablet computer called a Remote Operations Video Enhanced Receiver or ROVER.

Some AC-130 also carry a targeting laser, sometimes referred to as a “Big Ass Green Laser” but which Heitghthold called simply the “green beam.” It allows ground crew to co-oborate targeting decisions.

“We mounted it on a gunship and from a couple miles away you could flash a green spot,” James “Hondo” Guerts, an Air Force acquisition executive, said last year. “Then we told the Afghans, if you’re shooting and you’re seeing a big green blinking light on you, that’s probably not good for you.”

The green beam “can point at the target and [allow operators to] say, ‘Yup, you’re looking at the right thing,” said Heithold. But it only works when ground troops have “eyes on the target” — which the  Campbell report makes clear was not the case. And said Heithold, a lack of eyes is no longer an exceptional situation. It’s becoming the norm.

“The fights that we’re in today, the JTAC is frankly not on the objective. They’re in the rear making the call based on what we’re showing them,” he said.

Drones To Fill in Intelligence Gaps

Effort to extend the aircrew’s awareness go beyond the aircraft itself, Heithold said. Under an initiative dubbed, Tactical Off-Board Sensing, the AC-130 might launch  small foldable drones—Heithold mentioned Raytheon’s Coyotes — to provide full motion video.

“It comes out of that tube. It goes in a pre-planned orbit. I can stand off somewhere. It can tell me what’s there. It gives me a site picture before I ever get there. Now I can strike from a distance,” he said.

The Air Force has tested the system and will soon try it out in combat, said Heithold. The tragedy in Kunduz created a special urgency for the new capability.

“In a case like that, had you had another set of eyeballs—it’s another sensor on the airplane. We’ve got two very-high-definition sensors on the AC-130. Imagine now if I can duplicate that by taking something off the airplane, getting it down [closer to the target.] It’s quiet. It’s got a pretty darn high-definition sensor … I get a heck of a lot more fidelity on the target back to the airplane ... giving the airplane visibility on the target up close. More visibility and clarity I have on the target, the more effective I’m going to be,” he said.

The military is considering additional disciplinary action for the crew in the Kunduz case. Campbell’s report makes clear that human error was a major contributing factor. Without naming the crew, Heithold added a note of agreement, saying that technology would never suffice in the place of good judgement or patient targeting.

“Sometimes it’s old-style Vietnam,” he said. “Make contact with the guy on the radio and talk on the target. And we have to train our crews that when technology fails us, we’re still able to prosecute the mission by talking the way we used to, ‘what are you looking at?’ Well, I’m looking at this.’ So technology is going to help us in many, many ways but we also want our crews to know, it won’t always work ... That stuff fails, you’ve got to be able to go back to the dead reckoning. Same situation here. If it fails, you’re not going to have the level of fidelity on the target, etc. as you had had it been working. It’s common sense.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.