JEPAC partners with Patriots during Red Flag 15-2 Published March 19, 2015 By Lt. Col. S.D. Driskill JEPAC director of operations¬ NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev., -- The Joint Electromagnetic Preparedness for Advanced Combat unit integrated into Red Flag 15-2 to partner with exercise participants here, March 2 through 13. JEPAC partners with all branches of the U.S. military and the combatant commands to identify joint electromagnetic spectrum capability gaps and vulnerabilities. Additionally, JEPAC supports the development of various mitigation strategies; validate solutions; and enhances combat capabilities across the entire spectrum for air, ground, sea, space, and cyber forces. Our unit provides a unique and critical role in helping to ensure deployed U.S. and allied forces can operate in the complex and challenging environment of the modern battlefield with their electromagnetic spectrum-dependent electronic systems. Thesesystems include radars, radios, data links, communication equipment, aircraft, surface equipment and ships. The unit tests and assesses how well U.S. forces and equipment perform in a contested environment, and how to continually improve their capabilities. These tests and assessments are done at exercises such as Red Flag. To augment and improve the exercise, JEPAC coordinated with the Red Flag planners to have three U.S. Army Patriot Missile System AN/MPQ-65 radars and support systems participate in 15-2. Having Patriots and associated command and control vehicles integrated into the exercise created an opportunity to get realistic, unique training not available anywhere else. In addition to having the Patriot units integrated into the training scenarios, JEPAC helped arrange a series of realistic scenarios for the Patriot radars and operators to support an evaluation of combat capability in a simulated jamming environment. This also helps improve the training for both the U.S. Army Patriot Soldiers and for all of the participating aircrew. Our unit has worked with several U.S. Army Patriot units and organizations over the past several years to help develop tactics, techniques and procedures designed to improve Patriot operations in these complex jamming scenarios. The Soldiers executed these new TTPs and provided feedback in the busy, complex environment of Red Flag. In addition to helping arrange for the Patriot units to deploy to the Nevada Test and Training Range, JEPAC helped improve the complex, realistic training environment by coordinating to have airborne training jammers used during the exercise JEPAC partnered with a research institute and others to help incorporate these complex training jammer pods on contracted civilian jet aircraft during Red Flag 15-2. These aircraft carried jammer pods and provided enhanced realism to Red Flag by simulating different types of aircraft that could be potentially used by enemy forces. These updated TTPs directly helped Patriot Soldiers improve their capabilities for future operations around the world. The close partnership between JEPAC and the U.S. military also forms the basis for future work helping all four branches of the military and the entire Department of Defense improve combat capabilities, sensors and equipment that operate across the EMS.