Eagle Vision 5, updates bird's eye view

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Yash Rojas
  • 354th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EIELSON AIR FORCE BASE, Alaska --  A Department of Defense team began collecting imagery here Aug. 3 to enhance the capabilities of one of the largest military training ranges in the world.

The Eagle Vision 5 team, a mobile satellite ground station, delivered updated images of the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex by gathering unclassified commercial satellite imagery during RED FLAG-Alaska 11-3, which ends today.

"RED FLAG-Alaska is a good exercise for us to help war fighters," said Tech. Sgt. Kyle, 293rd Combat Communications Squadron data acquisition segment operator.

According to Sergeant Kyle, Eagle Vision 5 is one of six of the DoD's deployable mobile satellite ground stations. Upon arrival of Eagle Vision ground system operators, the whole operation can potentially be operational in a matter of hours, depending on urgency.

The images and data collected are unclassified, said Master Sgt. Chad, 293rd CBCS data integration segment NCO in-charge, allowing the final product to benefit more than military specific operations.
Eagle Vision is able to gather unclassified imagery and data that can have many applications.

"Think of it as being similar to Google Earth," said Sergeant Kyle.

The station needs only to be within 2,500 kilometers of an intended imaging area. Such imaging has helped emergency responders in tsunami assistance like the devastation in Japan and also in support of relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina.

Whether it is a disaster that needs support or a deployed environment that needs to be assessed for damages, Eagle Vision teams remain self-sufficient. The moving satellite ground station needs only sufficient fuel to power the stations numerous electronics including racks of computer hardware linked to multi-national satellites.

"Deployed team members can bring cots to sleep on," said Sergeant Chad. "With the right supplies including water and meals ready to eat, we can pretty much conduct everyday business anywhere."

As a DoD asset, the Eagle Vision program proves resourceful by providing support to U.S. military operations as well as assisting other nation-states. As a result of mobility, the Eagle Vision 5 crew and their arsenal of tools add an invaluable ability and capability to war fighters and non-military personnel alike anywhere on the planet.