Airfield Damage Repair

Tools to Manage Airfield Damage Repair Activities

Airfield Damage Repair (ADR)

Airfields can be the most immediate and lucrative targets for an adversary, because it is far more efficient to destroy aircraft while on the ground. Our military must maintain a capability to recover our own airfields after an attack. GeoExPT provides a situational awareness tool for identifying, assessing, tasking, and overall management of repair activities. This allows operators to quickly decide upon their Minimum Operating Strip (MOS) selection, repair quality criteria determination, explosive ordnance review, and the Minimum Airfield Operating Surface (MAOS). GeoExPT provides commanders and operators with an improved capability to restore operations to ensure rapid, timely, and effective reemployment of aircraft. GeoExPT is used today to train and employ forces to ensure they are prepared to support Rapid Airfield Damage Recovery (RADR) planning, repair, and regeneration of the Air Tasking Order.

ADR Overview

GeoExPT has the ability to plot and manage airfield damage to aid in the creation of a Minimum Airfield Operating Surface (MAOS) for runways. Airfield damage can be plotted, imported, and managed within GeoExPT. It also integrates with the current airfield repair process by providing generation of the Repair Quality Criteria (RQC) Worksheets.

Plot and manage all airfield damage from identification to actual repair
Determine repair times, repair order, and repair quality of damage
Create MOS with options for Repair Teams, Repair Zones, Environment conditions, Repair Materials, MOS Marking, Airfield Lighting, and MAAS Installation requirements
Automatically calculate RQC value for airfield repair and creates corresponding RQC worksheets
Create MAOS for entire airfield including the taxi routes to and from parking surfaces
Generate a variety of MAOS and damage reports
Integration and connectivity of different systems and multiple running instances of GeoExPT via the GeoExPT Synchronization Server (GAS)
Tasks assignments to capture video/image(s), repair damage, or mitigate unexploded ordnance
Integration with FMV enables the operators to quickly and easily analyze video data from UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), and UASs (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), tower-mounted video cameras, digital binoculars, or ground mobility vehicles

Before a MAOS can be selected Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA) has to be completed. Once a MAOS has been selected Rapid Explosive Hazard (REHM) can begin. Then after REHM efforts have cleared the way for a repair team(s) to begin work Rapid Damage Repair (RDR) begins.. The Multiple UXO Removal System (MURS) is a family of systems designed to mitigate thousands of UXOs. GeoExPT is used to task and manage these activities. MURS clears the staging areas, convoy routes, and repair zones to enable the crews to begin working. Within GeoExPT, crews are managed through the use of tasks. These tasks can include moving to a particular location, to capture video/image(s), repair damage, or mitigate unexploded ordnance. Each task has a geospatial component allowing GeoExPT operators to understand the current condition, assess changes in operations, and to monitor progress and completion.

GeoExPT contains a comprehensive set of tools allowing a centralized and near real-time visualization of the airfield, including integration with fixed sensors, ground mobile systems, personnel location and status, and remotely piloted aircraft data, including full motion video and imagery. Through the integration of FMV, operators can plot damage directly on to the video while viewing the playback. This enables them to repeatedly start, stop, and playback video while plotting the physical location and characteristics of damage.

Airfield Damage Repair Features

Airfield Damage Tools

The airfield damage tools allow users to quickly and continuously place damage on the map. GeoExPT contains tools to plot and manage bomblet, crater, crater field, camouflet, spall, spall field, UXO, and unclassified damages. Users are also able to add damages to the map by entering the damage code or by importing the damage. In addition, users are able to specify the damage properties (i.e. type, depth, diameter, etc.) that are specific to the damage type.

GeoExPT provides an airfield damage import tool to assist the user with importing damage into a scenario. During the import process, each damage type in the shapefile will be converted to the appropriate type of damage and geometry type in the scenario. The Airfield Damage Importer notifies the user of changes in the damage counts to any finalized MOS or MAOS Routes after damage has been imported. It provides the ability to “watch” a folder for damage shapefiles and will notify the user of new damage shapefiles available for import.

MOS and MAOS

GeoExPT provides rapid runway repair capabilities required to determine and manage MOS selection. When creating a MOS, options are available for Repair Teams, Repair Zones, Environment conditions, Repair Materials, MOS Marking, Airfield Lighting, and MAAS Installation requirements. When these options are selected, they impact how repair times are calculated.

GeoExPT allows operators to quickly decide upon their MOS selection, repair quality criteria determination, explosive ordnance review, and the MAOS. GeoExPT automatically calculates RQC values for airfield repair and creates corresponding RQC worksheets. These capabilities provide commanders and operators with an improved capability to restore operations to ensure rapid, timely, and effective reemployment of aircraft.

GeoExPT Synchronization Server (GAS)

GAS enables the integration and connectivity of different systems and multiple running instances of GeoExPT to report the status and changes to damage and vehicles as they occur during the RADR process. GeoExPT clients are able to send and receive messages and tasks to stay informed throughout the repair process. These tasks can include moving to a particular location, to capture video/image(s), repair damage, or mitigate unexploded ordnance. Each task has a geospatial component allowing GeoExPT operators to understand the current condition, assess changes in operations, and to monitor progress and completion.

As tasks are generated, users that are assigned the task and subscribed to GAS receive a notification of assignment. The tasks can include location of zones or patches, video, pictures, etc. to inform the operator of the task requirements. Throughout the process, a fully enabled chat messaging tool is available for all operators to stay in contact with one another.

Full Motion Video (FMV)

GeoExPT’s integration with FMV enables the operators to quickly and easily analyze video data from UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), and UASs (Unmanned Aircraft Systems), tower-mounted video cameras, digital binoculars, or ground mobility vehicles.

Throughout numerous RADR research and development exercises it was determined operators were able to delineate damage more readily using FMV data rather than standard geospatial imagery. In manually comparing the video and map, operators found an increasing ability to identify and even classify damage using live and archived FMV data.

With integration through a variety of video management systems, GeoExPT now enables operators to search a collection of archived videos by time and location to retrieve all possible data associated with a given area. Through the integration of FMV, operators can plot damage directly on to the video while viewing the playback. This enables them to repeatedly start, stop, and playback video while plotting the physical location and characteristics of damage.

Rapid Damage Assessment (RDA)

Operator Control Units (OCU). which act to control robotic repair vehicles, and operators of regular repair vehicles utilize GeoExPT's many helpful features to assist in RDA, or Rapid Damage Assessment. Vehicles' operators are just one one of the many groups that utilize GeoExPT's features to help complete their many tasks. Regular operators use GeoExPT and connect with the GeoExPT ADR Synchronization Server (GAS Server) for activities such as for task assignments, repair activities on the runway, and many more!