European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday july 22, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 9germany get new radar a is Jim Derheim capt. Ai Perdue of the tactical air control division at Ramstein a Germany tries out the new radar  units in a by Joseph Owen staff writer Ramstein a Germany a tactical air weapons controllers should be Able to work faster More efficiently and with better Protection now that the . Air Force has begun deploying modular control equipment for them in Germany. The air Force praises the tactical radar tool designed to coordinate fighter planes attacks on enemy aircraft As the most significant improvement in ground radar systems in two decades. Each set of equipment is housed in an operations module 20 feet Long 8 feet wide and 8 feet High. The . Air forces in Europe the first air Force command to put the system to work accepted two of the eight modules Friday at Ramstein a. The air Force has ordered 80, said it col. Stephen r. Jones a systems improvement program manager at Hansco Mafb mass. The modules will be issued in pairs to four tactical control squadrons a the 602nd at i Aschheim air station this week the 603rd at Sembach a by mid August and the 601st at Alzey Germany and the 606th at Wasdahl Germany by May 1992. Each pair of modules replaces an aircraft control system that was contained under an inflatable roof the size of a Small parking lot. The modules Are easier to camouflage because of their smaller size and they and the radar unit can be dispersed to prevent a single attack from crippling All three. Under the old system controllers tracked planes movements by plotting them in grease Pencil on a plexiglas Chart. Operators had to identify planes As friends or foes on radar and relaying that information to commanders sometimes took several minutes. The system was cumbersome requiring lots of support equipment and 24 hours for deployment and setup. The capacity of the modular equipments computers is far greater. The computers allow operators to track and identify planes instantly and automatically displaying the information on Large monitors. Operators seeking More detailed information about a Symbol appearing on the Monitor can simply touch the Glass where the figure appears and the desired data pop up on a separate screen. The computer also exchanges tracking information with other sources such As airborne warning and control system planes that might be in the combat area. Repairs Are simple because the computer tells operators when a circuit card needs to be replaced and exactly where it is located. The modules can be deployed anywhere in the world by land sea or air and can be operating in eight hours. A pair can be dismantled and moved in an emergency within a i hours. Unlike the old system the modules Are protected from biological chemical or radiological attack. The old system always offered operators a Chilly working environment but the modules Are heated of air conditioned As necessary. A a it a one of the Many luxuries Well be Able to enjoy with this a said staff sgt. Melvin l. Little an aerospace control and warning systems operator at Sembach Abas he gave a tour of a module on display Friday at Ramstein. The radar unit also is improved Jones said. It does no to Emit a Side lobes a secondary signals that a a leak out during the radar sweeps revealing its presence faster to ant radar misses. Attackers now have to get four times closer to the radar to strike it Jones said. Finally maj. Robert e. Lander chief of the tac air control system improvements Branch at Safe Headquarters said each Squadron will have to assign Only 137 people to a two module control unit slashing personnel use in half. Gen. Robert c. Oaks commander of Safe alluded to that advantage when he accepted a certificate marking the equipment Transfer to his command Friday. A was nato restructures and Down Scopes and As All of the member nations restructure and Dow scope their defense capability their defense organization Why me modular control equipment comes along at a most opportune time a Oaks said. The Marine corps started development of me in 1979, and the air Force joined the program in 1982, said maj. Ira h. Wiener who manages the equipment program for the air Force systems come. The marines spent $100 million on research and development the air Force $40 million and the contractor Litton data systems $100 million. The air Force is also spending about $750 million for its 80 modules Jones said and the marines about $375 million for 38 modules that vary slightly from those the air Force is buying. Jones said the air Force already has spent an additional $100 million on research and development to make radar data links and vhf radios less susceptible to jamming and for other improvements. That work is about 60 a percent Complete he said adding that the modular equipment is designed in such a Way that it can be upgraded easily Over the next three or four decades. Safety lessons air Force staff sgt. Bobby Kendrick manager of the Marina at Iraklion air station Crete stands ready for boating enthusiasts eager to know More about Marine safety. Kendrick 28, reported an increase in the number of visitors this summer wanting to rent Craft ranging from outboard powered inflatable rafts to sailboats. Id cardholders can rent Craft at the Marina for an hourly fee plus the Cost of Tiel. The Marina is open daily from 11 . To 7 . Boating season ends at Iraklion in october or november depending on the  amps Gary Miller