Dedicated Air National Guard (ANG) rescue forces rapidly respond to locate and recover isolated or
distressed personnel during civil Search and Rescue (SAR) operations when civilian authorities are unable to rescue
them. As such, ANG SAR forces are more effective with a self-contained, independent means of executing timesensitive
tasks during the report, locate, support, and recover phases of personnel recovery. Digital management of
multiple survivors, which includes electronic tracking and monitoring, and resources via data link, is paramount
during wide-area incidents when voice networks are saturated. The SAR missionized AS-4 Pod includes capabilities
such as: wide area multispectral Electro-Optical-Infrared (EO-IR) sensor optimized for survivor detection and
geolocation. The wide-area EOIR sensor system optimized for survivor detection is an essential element of the SAR
missionized Pod. Wide area IR systems provide the ability to disseminate (10) virtual FMV streams capable of
keeping track of personnel (dismounts) on the ground in the area of persistence. These streams can be controlled as
virtual FMV sensors, fixed to precision geo-locations, cued to SIGINT or Blue Force feeds through Network Centric
Collaborative Targeting (NCCT) or Cursor on Target (COT) infrastructure. Dissemination through MISB – compliant
h.264 video streams speed distribution of virtual FMV to off-board users and others in the domestic PAD
infrastructure or OCONUS PED infrastructure. Current training and TTP’s are enhanced given the expanded coverage
area, with few new concepts or techniques.

The human weapon system will not be effective in rapidly responding to critical domestic operation calls for support, in situations such as Katrina, Napa earthquake, and superstorm Sandy where ANG is called as first to respond with air support cover. ANG must prioritize response objectives – not doing so may result in loss of life in the initial moments or hours immediately following an event