Findings from the Employment of Bulldog Armoured Geospatial Support on Exercise with an Armoured Infantry Battle Group

摘要

THE recent addition of Geospatial Technicians (Geo Techs) within an Armoured Infantry (AI) Battle Group Headquarters (BGHQ) has led to experimentation in their employment. The two-man team and their equipment are usually deployed in a box body truck, called Tactical Information and Geospatial Analysis System (TIGAS), which is seen by some as inadequate in terms of manoeuvre and protection. In June and July of 2015 on Exercise Prairie Storm 2115 (Ex PS), the opportunity arose to support an AI BGHQ with Geo working out of a BULLDOG AFV 432 Ambulance. This article discusses the future employment of Geo in an AI BGHQ in the light of experience drawn from their employment on this exercise. Having outlined the problem, the article will look at: the equipment used; the methods of data transfer and presentation; and the support required for power generation, resupply and recovery. It will conclude that, while Geo was successfully deployed in an armoured vehicle, some platform optimisation and additional training would be required were Armoured Geo to develop as a fully-fledged capability.