Back to Gunship! Expansion Packs
A2C2S Heliborne Command and Control
|
 |
 |
From The Federation of
American Scientists:
"The Army Airborne Command & Control System (A2C2S) is a helicopter
(UH-60) based Command and Control (C2) mission kit which will serve as a corps, division,
maneuver brigade, or attack helicopter commander's airborne tactical command post (TACCP).
The system will feature C2 "on-the-move" and situational awareness that foster a
commander's common view of the battlefield through voice and data equipment that provides
battlefield information processing and connectivity equivalent to ground tactical command
post and Battle Command Vehicle (BCV). The system will provide connectivity to embassy,
law enforcement, maritime, civil, and/or other humanitarian information/communication
networks. "
One of most exciting aspects of the Gunship!/Tank Platoon! set was the possibility of
combined-arms operations. Whether or not this would have been a succeful multiplayer
product is an interesting question. A few months ago, one of the developers of the Steel
Beasts tank sim posted a request for comments in the SimHQ helosim forum. He wanted to
know what it would take to get flight simmers interested in buying Steel Beasts. A very
illuminating discussion ensued, which
can be found here.
What about Tank Platoon! ?
I gather that Tank Platoon! was very close to completion when it was cancelled by Hasbro.
If it is worth reviving and releasing on it's own or not is a worthy subject for another
discussion.
My interest in Tank Platoon is mainly concerned with whether or not Gunship players could
be given the ability to issue commands to ground forces as in M1TP2. From what I have
learned from some of the table structures in gunship.exe, I suspect that this capability
would not be terribly difficult to add.
The concept of Gunship C2 (Command and Control)
This enhancement would let players act as either an attack helicopter crew in the heat of
battle, or as a brigade commander managing the battle from an airborne Command and Control
UH-60 Blackhawk. One of the greatest strengths of the M1TP2/Gunship! platform is the
exceptionally realistic performance of ground units. Even if the ground vehicles are not
player operated, being able to control their behavior could be a very attractive feature.
The A2C2S UH-60 could be flown in the F1/F4 view, with F2 showing a cabin w/window view
with map displays and IVIS views, (similar to the UAV consoles discussed above) and F3 as
either a FLIR display, or a door gunner with 7.62 MG view. The map view via the M key
could be used for C2 battle management.
Here are some links to more technical resources on the Blackhawk A2C2S system:
http://www.defensedaily.com/progprof/army/a2c2s.pdf
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ac/equip/a2c2s.htm
http://www.assurtech.com/a2c2s.asp
http://www.pxi.com/praxis_publicpages/A2C2S.html
http://www.aatd.eustis.army.mil/Business/FactSheets/A2C2S/A2C2S.asp
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/aircraft/systems/a2c2s.htm
http://www.global-defence.com/1998/Communications/digital.htm
http://www.interfacecontrol.com/briefs/a2c2s.htm#Advanced
http://www.c2az.com/index_files/page0015.htm
http://www.kdhnews.com/militaryjuly2001.html#id
http://tradoc.monroe.army.mil/pao/mc02/armybattlecommandsystem1.html
USMC version:
http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/article.cfm?Id=787
