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Location, Designation, and Hand-off System during live-fire mortar range in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. The 24th MEU is the first unit to use the TLDHS in a combat environment while in Afghanistan.
The THS is modular joint fires and combined arms man-portable equipment suite that provides our Corps with the capability to quickly and accurately acquire targets in day, night, and near all-weather visibility conditions. It allows Marines to control CAS as well as artillery and naval fire support missions on a single system using digital communications.
THS enables operators to conduct target acquisition and target hand-off to fire support agencies using existing and planned communications equipment to support maneuver units of the Marine Air Ground Task Force. Operators are able to accurately determine and designate a target’s location and then digitally transmit (hand-off) these target data to supporting arms elements. The THS employs a laser designator for precision-guided munitions and laser spot trackers, and it generates accurate coordinates for global positioning system-guided weapons, including Excalibur rounds and Joint Direct Attack Munitions. The primary operators are forward air controllers (FAC) and joint terminal attack controller (JTAC) for CAS, forward observers (FO) and joint forward observers for field artillery missions, firepower control teams of the air and naval gunfire liaison companies, Marine Corps Special Operations Command, and the supporting training commands. THS is interoperable with several systems, including AFATDS, Naval Fire Control System, Joint Tactical Common Operational Picture Workstation Gateway, Common Laser Range Finder, and the AN/PRC-117 Tactical Combat Net Radio. Tactical air control parties often employ THS in conjunction with intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets.
THS Block II is in sustainment. A scheduled Block III increment was delayed indefinitely due to reduced funding levels. The main hardware component of THS – the Military Ruggedized Tablet-B (MRT-B) – is supported through FY16. An upgrade of the software component – STRIKELINK v 1.2 – is in final development and will be fielded in 4th Qtr FY14.
STRIKELINK Ancillary Equipment (SLATE), a more lightweight, user-wearable hardware set, will be fielded to selected users upon successful completion of a Field User Evaluation in 1st Qtr FY14.
FY16 will bring a complete hardware refresh of MRT-B and SLATE systems with a lightweight solution that incorporates current advancements in handheld technology and encryption.