Enhanced Tactical Radar Corelator (ETRAC)

ETRAC convoy conducting road march in the Hungarian countryside      Soldiers from the 302nd MI BN, V Corps, prepare to set up Temporary SCIF (T-SCIF)      ETRAC crew members, 302nd MI BN, V Corps, deploy power cables for the Surface Antenna Group (SAG)      Deployed ETRAC Site operational area. Setup includes (Left to Right) the Tactical Support Van (TSV), Tactical Mission Van (TMV) and Entry Control Point.

Readiness Exercise Turns Real World By Sharon Carvalho Soldiers from B Company, 302nd MI BN (V Corps), who operate the ETRAC, or Enhanced Tactical Radar Correlator, recently went from a readiness exercise into real world support. While participating in a 3-day mission readiness test, the crew received a request from the Air Force to "run" a mission. In the short time available the crew successfully set up the system and received the mission, proving it can meet real world mission and serve as primary ground station, for a U-2 reconnaissance mission over the Balkans. The V Corps ETRAC has been in Taszar, Hungary since 9 May 98 in support of Operations Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard. Its operation supports Task Force Eagle in Tusla, Bosnia. Change detection techniques are being used to detect and monitor weapons and equipment movement within the cantonment areas of the formerly warring factions. This monitoring is done to assure compliance with the Dayton Peace Accord. Uniquely equipped U-2 aircraft utilize a dual data link, simultaneously downlinking to the ETRAC and USAF Contingency Airborne Reconnaissance System components located in Italy. The exercise covered system pack-up, a 26-mile road march, set-up at a temporary location, tear-down, and return to the deployed site on the Tazsar, Hungary, airfield. This deployment exercise provided the crew with an opportunity to demonstrate their ability to deploy and redeploy and be prepared to support a real world mission in a timely matter. The ETRAC was developed by ASPO to provide Army field commanders with accurate, reliable, and timely imagery-based battlefield intelligence derived from the all-weather, high resolution, Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar System-2 (ASARS-2) radar sensor carried on board the U-2 aircraft. To accomplish its mission, the ETRAC provides direct receipt of ASARS-2 data, near-real-time processing of SAR data into digital imagery, softcopy display of the imagery, limited exploitation of imagery into intelligence products and ensured dissemination of products to the user. The unit plans to continue conducting deployment exercises on a semi-annual basis.