CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE BASRA, Iraq – Members of the Iraqi Security Forces 70th Air Reconnaissance Squadron completed the first phase of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance training with 34th Red Bull Infantry Division’s intelligence section this month at Contingency Operating Base Basra.
Iraqi fighter pilots with the 70th who have combat experience from the Iran-Iraq War, some with as many as 800 hours of combat flight time, worked with Soldiers from the 34th Inf. Div. intelligence section to become familiar with remote control surveillance cameras attached to their Sama CH200 and SBL-360 Seeker aircraft. The aircraft are fitted with an FLIR Systems 8500 Electro-Optics/Infra Red camera system.
“We’ve completed phase one. These guys are used to the old fixed cameras. You just turn them on and fly over,” said Staff Sgt. Eric Ebner, operations analyst with 34th Inf. Div. “The biggest problem they had was coordinating the camera with the movement of the plane.”
The pilots, who flew the Russian MiG 21, 23 and 25; the Sukov 24 and French Mirage fighters, were able to become familiar with the camera systems operation and capabilities during ground training. The instructors ran each of the pilots through the systems in a hands-on course before they took to the sky to actually work with the systems, targeting items on the ground.
“They have to learn to talk to the ground commander, to provide a play-by-play from the air,” said Ebner.
The next phase of instruction will continue focusing on technical capabilities of the FLIR 8500 system and allow the pilots to coordinate their efforts with the Iraqi army. The pilots will assist the army with more efficient placement and utilization of Iraqi resources throughout their areas of operation.
The value of the training is to allow the Iraqis to utilize their own pilots and resources to support the ISR mission of the ISF across Multi-National Division – South and to minimize the need for reliance on U.S. resources to accomplish their mission. The training will assist in facilitating the aerial reconnaissance capabilities in order to protect the sovereignty of Iraq.
