Combat Search and Rescue
Combat Search and Rescue ( CSAR ; English 'armed search and rescue') describes the military, armed form of search and rescue operations in crisis and war zones in NATO countries. It must not be confused with the involvement of the military in civil emergency rescue services or disaster control. CSAR should not only serve to rescue isolated or wounded people, but also protect them from (war) imprisonment and murder.
CSAR is an element of Personnel Recovery (PR, German: People return), which includes operations to rescue abducted, missing and isolated people under its roof. However, only the United States is currently making any real distinction between these two terms. The European NATO members equate both terms.
CSAR is usually coordinated by the air forces of the respective state or military alliance, as most CSAR missions rely on the use of helicopters and the support of combat and surveillance aircraft. However, CSAR missions can also be carried out using ground vehicles or ships and boats .
Different definitions
CSAR is defined by NATO as the detection, identification and rescue of downed aircrews and - if appropriate - isolated military personnel in danger in a hostile environment during crises and war. The prerequisite is that these people are equipped and trained to receive CSAR support in an operation area.
As defined by the US armed forces, CSAR is a special task performed by rescue workers to rescue people in danger. This applies both to theaters of war and to non-war military operations (Military Operations other than War, MOOTW). [...] The primary task of Air Force CSAR measures is to rescue downed aircraft crews and other isolated military personnel. The rescue forces can also take on tasks such as MEDEVAC, civil SAR missions, disaster relief, international relief tasks, the evacuation of non-combatants (noncombatant evacuation operations, NEO), anti-drug operations and were able to take on space shuttle support.
concept
The rescue forces and the aircraft crew to be rescued carry out the rescue procedure under combat conditions according to uniformly defined procedures.
CSAR is carried out by military units during combat operations. This includes searching for and rescuing pilots who have been shot down, but also those who have lost their units behind enemy lines. The CSAR helicopters and emergency services do not enjoy the special protection of the Geneva Convention for ambulance transports and personnel, nor are they allowed to use emblems such as the Red Cross or Red Crescent.
Some examples of CSAR missions were the rescue of the USAF pilots Scott O'Grady or less successful attempts during the Battle of Mogadishu , where the Special Forces 24th Special Tactics Squadron was the USAF for CSAR missions with the rescue and recovery operation involved . The USAF successfully implemented an early form of CSAR in the Korean War and refined it in the Vietnam War . Helicopters observed the airspace above the combat zone and immediately flew to the crash site of the jumped pilot to record him.
CSAR does not only consist of the provision of an armed rescue helicopter, but also includes survival and behavioral guidelines for pilots and troops during combat operations in enemy territory in order to avoid capture, special telecommunications equipment for establishing a connection with the rescue aircraft. The CSAR units are ready for action as soon as combat operations begin, so that they can either react immediately or only initiate the rescue later after the general combat activities have been completed.
history
The German Wehrmacht had twelve emergency squadrons and two sea emergency flotillas.
Current situation
Germany
With the deployment of the Luftwaffe's combat rescuers, the Bundeswehr has had dedicated forces for the task of "rescue and repatriation" since 2013. Combat rescuers of the Air Force carry out the CSAR assignment for the Bundeswehr. Up to the status of "initial operational capable" (ioc) of the Luftwaffe combat rescuers, basic qualification was guaranteed by the special forces command . A CSAR group of the Luftwaffe was set up as early as 1996 and was stationed in Holzdorf until 2006. It should “after the arrival of the NH90 CSAR conceptually prepare the immediate achievement of a CSAR qualification .” With the help of Bell UH-1 D, procedures were developed and national and international exercises were held. This should enable a first CSAR qualification by 2011. In 2008, however , the Federal Ministry of Defense announced that the concept of the NH90 CSAR helicopter " would not be able to be implemented with the present offer from NHIndustries (NHI)", as there were primarily problems with radio data transmission and satellite communication.
It was planned to convert twelve NH90 helicopters so that eight kits could have been installed if required. This would have included an air refueling option, the radio data transmission system MIDS / Link 16, a radiation measuring device, a direction finding device and a possibility for self-defense against attacking aircraft.
During the ISAF mission in Afghanistan, a personnel recovery group was provided by the Air Force's object protection forces, which was supported by US forces, see Afghanistan .
According to information from the Bundestag, there have so far been no situations in which German soldiers had to be rescued by a CSAR operation.
With the deployment of the Luftwaffe combat rescuers in 2013, the Bundeswehr is planning courses specially designed for this "rescue and repatriation" skill.
Switzerland
The Swiss Air Force is equipped for SAR missions, but the situation with the possibility of carrying out CSAR operations is described as "difficult" and the SAR helicopter Super Puma is classified as "not suitable for combat zones".
Bulgaria
As of December 2006, the Bulgarian military was planning to procure four Eurocopter AS 532 helicopters as main elements for CSAR missions.
Afghanistan
The NATO currently maintains in Kabul (Afghanistan) under the ISAF mission a combined Rescue Coordination Center (CRCC). It is attached to the Air Task Force (ATF) in the Theater Air Operations Center (TAOC). The focus is not only on the rescue of pilots, but also on the rescue of all military personnel in danger in Afghanistan, also within the framework of MedEvac and CasEvac .
For tasks of this kind, a. Spanish, Turkish and German helicopters kept ready. Belgian, Danish and Swedish C-130s in Kabul and German C-160s in Termiz are also available as support. In addition, tank farms for jet fuel have been set up in almost all provincial bases.
All pilots received a task-related briefing and SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) training from US instructors.
Armed returns within the framework of the ISAF mandate are carried out by the "Personel Recovery Team Afghanistan" of air force infantry forces of the German object protection group Mazar-e Sharif, which is supported by US UH-60 Black Hawks with their pilots and gunmen .
equipment
CSAR helicopters often have an in-flight refueling facility and are specially converted for these missions. In the United States, the Bell Boeing V-22 tiltrotor aircraft was specifically planned for this purpose, as it eliminates some of the disadvantages of the helicopter, such as lower speed and range. In October 2007, a tender for 141 helicopters for CSAR missions was published. The Boeing HH-47 Chinook had actually already won in 2006 , but after protests by Lockheed-Martin and Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation , the tender was started again.
See also
- United States Air Force Pararescue - USAF rescue parachutist
- 24th Special Tactics Squadron
literature
- Captain Earl Tilford, Jr., Maritime Emergency Services: Early Development of Air-Sea Rescue , In: Air University Review, January / February 1977.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ US Joint Forces Command - Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA) ( Memento of the original from March 6, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ ATP-62 (AJP 3.3.4.6) COMBAT SEARCH AND RESCUE, Feb. 2000; Pp. 1–1.
- ↑ AIR FORCE DOCTRINE DOCUMENT 2-1.6; Sept. 30, 1998; Page 1.
- ^ Karl Born: Rescue between the Fronts: Sea Emergency Service of the German Air Force 1939-1945 . Mittler 1996, p. 9.
- ↑ a b c German Bundestag, 16th electoral period, printed matter 16/4354 of February 20, 2007; Answer of the federal government to the small question of the members Elke Hoff, Birgit Homburger, Dr. Rainer Stinner, another member of parliament and the FDP parliamentary group - printed matter 16/4254 -; CSAR capabilities of the Bundeswehr
- ↑ a b Ansgar Graw, Bundeswehr could not save shot down pilots - Ministry of Defense admits: Plan to develop an armed recovery helicopter has failed - criticism of the FDP , Die Welt, August 2, 2008, viewed on January 9, 2010
- ↑ a b The Air Force before a grounding? (PDF; 340 kB), Association for Security Policy and Defense Science, May 2007, page 8
- ^ The transformation of the Bulgarian armed forces , Federal Ministry for National Defense and Sport, In: TRUPPENDIENST - Episode 300, edition 6/2007
- ↑ Andrew Drwięga: From High Wycombe to Afghanistan . Defense Helicopter; Dec. 2005 / Jan. 2006.
- ↑ Savior in battle . In: Bundeswehr TV . Edition 02/2011. January 15, 2011.
- ↑ Jane's Air Force News, USAF requests new bids on CSAR-X, Oct. 29, 2007, Caitlin Harrington; janes.com
