Maneuvers included the use of war aircraft and electronic intelligence such as the Boeing EA-18G Growler and the Boeing E-3 Sentry (photo), Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).
The first one has the main function of carrying out SEAD missions, that is the suppression of the opposing antiaircraft defenses, and it is a real concentrate of technologies able to hook up the emissions of the search and guiding radars of the adversaries. The on-board equipment is mainly composed of: the ALQ-218 receiver, the CCS (Communication Countermeasure Set) ALQ-227, the digital version of the USQ-113 used for communication disturbance, the CMDS (Counter Measures Dispenser System) AN / ALE-47 for launching chaff and flare and the 16 Link Encrypted Data Transmission System.
The Boeing E-3 AWACS can detect planes far to 400 km, far beyond the range of anti-aircraft defense. An AWACS flying at a height of 9000 meters, has a radar coverage of 312.000 square kilometers, in fact, only three overlapping orbits can monitor the entire Central Europe.
In air-to-air combat, AWACS systems communicate with friendly airplanes, to extend the range of their sensors and also facilitates less visibility, as the raiders no longer need to use their radar to detect the enemy intrusions.
During the Black Sea Breeze exercise, NATO's surface units and aircraft had underdone radar and electronic surveillance across the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, and the US Army said that in the 10 days it also monitored commercial air traffic , it could therefore be inferred that it included the flight MH-17. At the same time as Sea Breeze, approved by the Ukrainian Parliament, was underway a second exercise known as Rapid Trident, which also included the actual 200s of the US Army coming from the bases in Germany, and this was headed by the Ukraine Ministry of Defense.
The USS Vella Gulf missile cruiser participated in the Sea Breeze (photo), sailing in the Black Sea since last May. The Vella Gulf is part of the Aegis class of cruisers. The AEGIS AN / SPY1 radar is able to continuously monitor the airspace on 360 degrees without the dead time due to the rotation of a mechanical antenna; it can track and manage the engagement of numerous multiple targets at the same time. The SPY-1 improves a series of functions normally used for different traditional radar systems: long-range aerial surveillance; three-dimensional aerial discovery; surface discovery; tracking targets; Intermediate guide for missiles equipped with semi-active radar sensor. In fact, the surface unit can trace all the aircraft over a large region.
Therefore, from the Black Sea, the Vella Gulf could monitor the Malaysian Airlines MH17 and any missiles fired at the aircraft; AWACS aircraft flew over the region when the MH-17 passed over Ukraine and the Growler aircraft were enabled to intercept all missile radars. It is therefore credible that the electronic surveillance and discovery systems of NATO have recorded what happened to the MH17 flight.
Giovanni Caprara
(photo: US Air Force / US Navy)
