"No matter where we are from, our language is English," one of the German joint terminal attack controllers (JTACs) briefly remarks. At the Kazla Ruda training area in Lithuania, the JTACs of enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) Battlegroup Lithuania train together with their NATO Allies. The U.S. and Spanish service members with their A-10 Warthogs and F18s operate alongside German, Dutch and Norwegian personnel. At first glimpse, the scenario of the day seems quite simple. Unsurprisingly, it does not take long for the situation to become much more complex.
The mission objective is to destroy an enemy anti-aircraft weapon system. Since attacking its exact position with a fighter jet would be incredibly dangerous for the aircraft, the JTACs have to find another way to fulfil their task. They could, for instance, employ Dutch mortars, but airspace and playtime (i. e. the time available for the operation of combat aircraft) are limited. The clock is ticking, and the controllers continue to seek an ideal solution that would allow them to use all assets at their disposal while working within a commander's intent.
Photo by EFP Battlegroup LTU
After a short discussion, Jan, a JTAC from Germany, puts forward an idea. He plans to pin down enemy forces with mortars and have an aircraft attack immediately afterwards. This reduces the threat to the aircraft. There is also a great degree of certainty that such a strike would destroy the target. After a positive battle damage assessment (BDA), the ground threat would be neutralized, and Jan could call in further attacks from the sky. However, in order to manage all of these different fire commands, he needs support. In his joint fire support team (JFST), he is assisted by Hugo, a joint fires observer (JFO). For this mission, Hugo is in charge of managing strikes that are carried out by ground forces, while Jan manages all of the assets in the sky.
For eFP Battlegroup Lithuania, the JTACs are enormously valuable. Be it in the joint fire support or joint fire support coordination team, the JTACs provide indirect fire for battle companies of the battlegroup. In combat, the "joint fire guys" - as they are often referred to - coordinate all target points that the platoons acquire, assist company commanders and advise them on all matters related to indirect fire. Last but not least, they make sure that NATO's artillery units hit an enemy at the right place and time, if need be. On the battalion level, the JFSTs collect and prioritize all requests for artillery fire coming in from the companies, and, after receiving orders from the battlegroup commander, forward them to higher echelons.
After Jan and Hugo have conducted the first runs and the targets have been hit, Dutch and Norwegian JTACs take over. As it is the main task for this mission, they continue to pin down the enemy with mortar fire and achieve confirmed destruction of the target by using their airborne assets.
The day was exciting not only for the battlegroup's JTACs. Being a part of exercise Flaming Sword, many soldiers had the chance to learn more about the controllers. The Lithuanian Army used this opportunity to allow young artillery officers to see what the JTACs and JFOs do within the multinational environment of the eFP battlegroup.
"JTACs are a major asset for us and for me as the Battlegroup Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Andr‚ explains. "While I am coordinating the troops of my battlegroup, the JTACs support me by managing indirect fire and the airspace." Andra‚ commanded the eFP forces in Lithuania from February to August 2022. Together with his JTACs, he conducted a lot of exercises across Lithuania. This joint work culminated in the achievement of the 11th rotation's primary goal: they passed the in-theatre readiness inspection. Conducted during exercise Iron Wolf, the inspection demonstrated the ability of the battlegroup - which had been deployed for some months at that time - to defend NATO's eastern flank.
Photo by EFP Battlegroup LTU