Ramstein team gives planners Eagle Vision

  • Published
  • By Senior Master Sgt. Hollis Dawson
  • 3rd Air Force Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AB, Germany --  When planning an operational mission, the availability of accurate imagery is critical. The responsibility to provide this vital information to those mission planners resides in the capable hands of eight members of an Air Force team here dubbed, "Eagle Vision-1."

The vision for the program came about as a result of a 1990 Defense Department-sponsored Foreign Comparative Test. The test showed the DoD that it had a need to be able to gather timely, cost-effective imagery from existing commercial satellites. Thus, the idea for Eagle Vision was born.

"The purpose of this project was to prove that commercial satellite imagery could be used within the Department of Defense," said Senior Airman Adam Walters, a commercial satellite imagery geospatial analyst. "And because of our recent successes, we are delivering high quality imagery products in record time."

Since the program's inception in 1994, six deployable EV units have been developed. EV-1 is the Air Force's only active duty commercial satellite imagery deployable ground station. EV-2 belongs to the Army while EV units 3-6 are operated by the Air National Guard.

These systems are capable of providing broad area commercial satellite imagery, within a 2,500 kilometer radius, to mission planners for situational awareness, unit level mission planning and terrain analysis for a fraction of the previous cost and reduced the delivery time from months to hours.

It's most recent success story was during last month's five-nation African visit by President Bush. EV-1 personnel provided over 70 imagery products to Joint Task Force Nomad Fire mission planners of the various locations the president was visiting. The imagery allowed planners to visualize the area and ensure people and equipment were placed where they could ensure the president had a smooth visit.

While the team's primary focus is on supporting planners for those major operations, as well as providing daily support to commanders, the team's efforts have also benefited State Department outreach efforts, particularly in Africa.

"Niger is one of the poorest countries in the world, and it has benefited from the imagery we've provided," said Senior Airman Ryan Nicoletti, a commercial satellite imagery geospatial analyst. "Our images illustrated to them logical steps they could take to slow down the rapid rate in which the Sahara dessert is encroaching."

All told, in the last three and a half years alone, the Eagle Vision-1 team has supplied over 350 images to U.S. Embassies in Niger, Uganda and Ghana. Providing the images has played a vital role in the decisions those countries have taken toward their future land development.