U.S. combat rescue radio survives trying tests: commercial technologies are simpler to use and cheaper, say manufacturers.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

The next-generation survivor radio for U.S. military pilots has completed several key tests in recent months. Programs officials said that the radio has overcome serious development problems experienced three years ago and that the technology will work as planned.

The CSEL (combat survivor/evader locator)--conceived as a replacement for the PRC-90 and PRC-112 radios--would help recovery units to pinpoint the location, authenticate and establish communications with downed aircrew in need of extraction.

The Pentagon's budget for fiscal year 2003 includes $50 million for the procurement of 3,500 CSEL radios. The 2002 budget was $30 million. Through 2015, the plan is to buy up to 53,000 units for the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The manufacturer is the Boeing Company.

The CSEL radio will enable two-way, over-the-horizon encrypted communications, so downed aviators can exchange messages with rescue coordination centers around the world.

The handheld radio--with an embedded GPS satellite receiver--is only one piece of an elaborate command-and-control network envisioned for CSEL. The system will include four dedicated UHF (ultra-high frequency) satellite base stations for two-way secure communications with the users, and other ground-based search-and-rescue sites that process information. Two of the four UHF base stations will be located in the United States (Hawaii and Virginia) and two in Italy (Naples and Sicily). These facilities currently are U.S. Navy UHF satellite communications centers. They provide a conduit for the radio signals to be transmitted over the horizon and fed into the existing secure military networks.

Air Force Col. (Sel.) David Madden, CSEL program manager, said in a recent interview that the system has performed well in tests this year, and that his most significant challenge in the months ahead is the training of the CSEL operators.

The Air Force is responsible for the CSEL program management on behalf of all the services. But, as a result of development glitches that plagued the program in 1998, the Defense Department's Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) office was asked to oversee the project.

In his fiscal 2001 annual report, DOT&E director Thomas Christie said that the CSEL technology is "potentially effective and suitable." But he cautioned that ifs not ready for operational use, because there are important issues about CSEL fielding and operator training that have yet to be worked out with the services and the U.S. regional war-fighting commanders.

According to Christie, some "users, trainers, testers and acquisition personnel ... have not been involved in the program enough. ... Concept of operations, fielding, manning, training and support have been slighted in the rush to produce a 'radio.'"

The program's aggressive schedule, Christie said, has kept CSEL "on the leading...