After several weeks of testing, the Air Force has declared Raytheon’s Distributed Common Ground System at Ramstein AB, Germany, ready for operational use. The network-centric system connects a range of intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance systems seamlessly allowing for “real-time” and “multiagency intelligence sharing and collaboration,” according to a company release. “The US Air Force ran regular missions using the upgraded DCGS baseline over several weeks and concluded it was ready to use for intelligence tasking, processing, exploitation, and dissemination,” said Mark Kipphut, Raytheon’s deputy director of tactical intelligence systems. A similar system at JB Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is slated to become operational “early next year,” he said. (See also A Giant Step Forward in the Daily Report archives)
The Air Force could conduct an operation like Israel's successful air campaign against Iran's nuclear sites, military leadership and air defenses, but readiness issues would make it risky, airpower experts said. Limited spare parts and training, low mission capable rates and few flying hours would put a drag on USAF's…