Vanguard Magazine

www.vanguardcanada.com AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2023 19 an, Dr. Richard Mayne has ably chronicled the rise of the CP-140 Aurora into a so- phisticated ISR platform in an article enti- tled "Cinderella's Star: The CP 140 Aurora and the Evolution of the Royal Canadian Air Force's Modern Long Range Patrol Capability". With the CP-140 Aurora plat- form, it was not until after the installation of key reconnaissance and surveillance equipment—such as the Westcam MX20 EO/IR Camera, which was completed in 2006, and the Overland Equipment Mis- sion Suite (OEMS)—that a true ISR capa- bility began to emerge. As a senior member of the Aurora community, Major-General (current rank) Iain Huddleston, observed "the FLIR camera with the new West- cam MX- 20 and the associated Overland Equipment Mission Suite (OEMS) was the first real leap in operational capability that Aurora crews had experienced, and it made them hungry for more!" It was a sig- nificant advancement as the Auroras finally had a piece of equipment that would allow them to perform overland exercises and do some serious work with both the Canadian Army and Special Operation Forces. For some time previously, a lack of fund- ing had delayed work on the OEMS. That changed quickly once the RCAF man- aged to convince the government that the OEMS was an operational necessity for the security efforts surrounding the 2010 Win- ter Olympic Games in Vancouver. Things moved quickly after that, as one officer involved in the program noted that "the Minister signed the cheque for it [OEMS] and then we ran like hell to get it in place." The Commander of 1 Canadian Air Divi- sion (1 CAD) went even further by asking the staff to find a way to have live video piped from an Aurora that was flying on top of the Olympic venue at Vancouver and be "free streamed" into the 1 CAD CAOC [Combined Air Operations Centre], while giving them only about 2 or 3 months to find a technical solution to make this hap- pen. The final solution wasn't "pretty", but it worked. Essentially, the video was sent to a ground station in the Vancouver area, captured by a "magical" process, and sent over a data connection to Winnipeg. This "live streaming" step represented a consid- erable leap for the Aurora community and it was one that was about to be later tested in combat above the skies of Libya. After being outfitted with the Block II modifications, several aircraft deployed on Operation MOBILE—the name given to Canada's involvement in the 2011 air campaign over Libya. This proved to be another resounding success for the Aurora community being able to highlight its new role as a general purpose ISR platform. Due to a NATO shortage of ISR aircraft for the Libyan mission, the Aurora was in high demand not only to conduct its tra- ditional maritime reconnaissance function but also to demonstrate its new overland capability (fortunately in a permissive en- vironment). These missions also pro- vided an opportunity for the Aurora to demonstrate its flexibility by performing many tasks for the first time, such as the coordination of naval gunfire support, airstrike co-ordination and reconnais- sance co-ordination and sometimes even propaganda work. It was a defining mo- ment for both the RCAF and the Aurora community, as over a decade's worth of effort to revitalize this platform was fi- nally paying off and it was clear that this process had indeed been an important step in further revolutionizing Canadian ISR capabilities. The latest variant of the Aurora is the Block 4 edition, which includes a new mission computer, acoustic, self-defence suites as well as other electronic weapon systems along with the full integration of the MX 20 camera into the comput- er and tactical suites. The Aurora has now reached a point where it has been re-designated as the CP-140M (with the M standing as the designation for a modernized aircraft). Given its ad- vanced ISR capabilities, it should even perhaps be further re-designated as the C-140MISR! The Next Step in Canadian ISR - ASIR King Airs for CANSOFCOM In July 2018, the Canadian Special Op- erations Forces Command (CANSOF- I S R The introduction of the F-35 Lightning II as the RCAF's next generation fighter aircra will represent yet another significant leap in the Canadian Forces ISR capabilities. Photo: United States Air Force

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