CAS SPINS

Home >> Standard Operating Procedures >> CAS SPINS

SPINS stands for "Special Instructions". This page contains standard procedures that are valid when conducting CAS during Master Arms missions unless the organizer or mission commander explicitly states something else. The written mission briefings on the Master Arms event page often refers to the instructions on this page.

General SPINS Information

Responsibilities

All personnel conducting or involved with CAS operations with Master Arms are responsible for information in these SPINS and if applicable Weekly/Daily SPINS and Airspace Control Plan.

Use of Force

Definitions

Self-defense
No ROE shall negate a commander’s right to take all necessary actions for unit and individual self-defense. Self-defense is the use of necessary and proportional force, including deadly force, to defend against an attack or an imminent attack. The following definition apply:

- “Necessary” means the use of force is indispensable for securing self-defense.

- “Proportional” means a response commensurate with the perceived level of threat posed.

- “Imminent” means that the need to defend is manifest, instant and overwhelming.

- “Attack” is use of force against forces and personnel

Hostile intent
Is a likely and identifiable threat recognizable on the basis of both the following conditions:

- Capability and preparedness of individuals and/or groups of personnel/units which pose a threat to inflict damage

- Evidence/intelligence which indicates an intention to attack or otherwise inflict damage. These may include maneuvering into weapon launch position and non-tactical events such as indications of mobilization.

Hostile acts
Include but are not limited to:

- Imposing restrictions upon the movements of forces through mine laying operations.

- Military aircraft penetrating restricted airspace refusing to comply to interception instructions.

- Breaching/attempting to breach restricted area.

Show of Presence
SoP is a mission flown to reassure friendly forces and civilians, achieved through visible and audible presence at altitude above 5000 ft AGL.

Show of Force
SoF require supported ground commander authorization. The profile flown will normally be requested and controlled by a JTAC/FAC(A) and treated as a CAS mission (CAS-brief) limited to three subsonic aircraft passes. Use of flares is permitted during SoF for self-protection.

Risk Estimate Distance

Weapon	Description	0,1% Pι
		Standing	Prone	Prone Protected
Mk-82 Contact	500lb Bomb	300m / 984ft	250m / 820ft	200m / 656ft
Mk-82 Airburst	500lb Bomb	400m / 1312ft	350m / 1148ft	300m / 984ft
GBU-12	500lb LGB	250m / 820ft	200m / 656ft	150m / 492ft
GBU-38	500lb JDAM	275m / 902ft	225m / 738ft	175m / 574ft
GBU-54	500lb LJDAM	275m / 902ft	225m / 738ft	175m / 574ft
Mk-84 Contact	2000lb Bomb	350m / 1148ft	300m / 984ft	250m / 820ft
Mk-84 Airburst	2000lb Bomb	450m / 1476ft	400m / 1312ft	350m / 1148ft
GBU-10/24	2000lb LGB	300m / 984ft	250m / 820ft	200m / 656ft
CBU-87	CEM	300m / 984ft	250m / 820ft	200m / 656ft
CBU-103	CEM	275m / 902ft	225m / 738ft	175m / 574ft
AGM-65	AGM	150m / 492ft	100m /328ft	50m / 164ft
AGM-114	AGM	100m / 328ft	50m / 164ft	5m / 16ft
Gun	20-30mm	100m / 328ft	50m / 164ft	5m / 16ft

Collateral Damage Eestimation

Target Engagement Authority

TIC/Self-Defence
When troops are in contact with a hostile force of acting in self-defence, the on scene ground commander is the strike approval authority.

Deliberate and Dynamic Targets

- Mission Commander approves strikes with a CDE of 3 or higher

- Ground Forces Commander approves a strike with CDE 2.

- A qualified JTAC approves a strike with CDE 1.

CDE			TEA
Level 1	Weapon Effect Radius max 200m? 400m radius of the aim point is clear of CDE risk objects, civilian or civilian buildings?	YES	JTAC
	NO
Level 2	Weapon Effect Radius max 250m? 300m radius of the aim point is clear of CDE risk objects, civilian or civilian buildings?	YES	GFC
	NO
Level 3	Weapon Effect Radius is clear of CDE risk objects?	YES	MC
	NO
Level 4	Weapon Effect Radius is clear of civilians?	YES	MC
	NO
	Target is not authorised for engagement

Target Location Error

TLE is defined as the difference between a set of target coordinates generated and the actual location of the target. In order to facilitate the communication of targeting accuracy, TLE is characterized in six categories. The first row represents the categories of TLE which range from best (CAT 1) to worst (CAT 6) and are used to classify the accuracy of any coordinate generating system.

CAT 1	CAT 2	CAT 3	CAT 4	CAT 5	CAT 6
0-20ft 0-6m	21-50ft 6-15m	51-100ft 16-30m	101-300ft 31-91m	301-1000ft 92-304m	>1001ftm >305m

Aircraft and Standard Conventional Load

Standard Conventional Loads

MA has a large number of operational platforms with different capabilities and limitations. The SCL or othe rloadout will be shown in the misison brief or given by the aircrew on check-in.

Table of MA SCLs

Aircraft	Nav. cap.	Standard Conventional Loadouts
A-10C II	MGRS, Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	W1: 4xAGM-65D, 4xGBU-54B, 7x, 1000 Rds/30mm, LITENING
		W2: 2xAGM-65E, 4xGBU-54B, 7xAPKWS, 1000 Rds/30mm, LITENING
		W3: 6xGBU-12,4xGBU-54B, 7xAPKWS, 1000 Rds/30mm, LITENING
F-15E	MGRS, Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	S1: 8xGBU-12, 1xGBU-24, 500 Rds/20mm, LANTIRN
		S2: 12xMk-82 AIR, 1xMk-84 AIR, 500 Rds/20mm, LANTIRN
		S3: -
AH-64D	MGRS, Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	A1: 8xAGM-114K, 38xHydra-70 M151/229, 300 Rds/30mm, M-TADS
		A2: 16xAGM-114K, 300 Rds/30mm, M-TADS
		A3: 76xHydra-70 M151/229, 300 Rds/30mm, M-TADS
AV-8B	MGRS, Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	H1: 4xGBU-54B, 300Rds/20mm, LITENING
		H2: 2xGBU-12, 2xAGM65E, 300Rds/20mm, LITENING
		H3: -
F-16C	Lat/Long Dec. (MGRS) NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	V1: 4xGBU-12, 300Rds/20mm, LITENING
		V2: 4xAGM-65D, 300Rds/20mm, LITENING
		V3: 4xGBU-38, 300Rds/20mm, LITENING
F/A-18C	MGRS, Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	G1: 2xGBU-12, 1xGBU-32, 1xAGM-65E, 500Rds/20mm, ATFLIR
		G2: 2xGBU-12, 2xGBU-38, 500Rds/20mm, ATFLIR
		G3: 4xGBU-12, 500Rds/20mm, ATFLIR
F-14B	Lat/Long Dec. NM/Feet AMSL Degrees Mag	T1: 14xMk-82 AIR, 600Rds/20mm, LANTIRN
		T2: 4x GBU-12, 600Rds/20mm, LANTIRN
		T3: -

Helicopter Operations

Attack Helicopters

The primary attack brief for RW CAS is 9-line, In certain situations RW may have higher SA due to lower operating altitude. In these instances, the 5-line RW CAS brief is available. The 5-line is an observer-centric CAS brief typically used for BOT attacks.

Support Helicopters

TBU

UAS Operations

General

TBU

Battlefield Air Space Management

TBU

Airdrop Operations

General

TBU

Battlefield Air Space Management

TBU

Deconfliktion

Height separation

When separated in height, aircraft may cross GTL. Separation must be at least 1000ft above maximum height AMSL of the fires ordnance (Max Ord).
E.g. Max Ord=6200fr AMSL, aircraft are not permitted below 7200.

Time separation

Time-check between all units involved must be carried out before using time separation. GPS time must be used for TOT.
separation between firs ordnance and aircraft TOT should be at least 30sec. (Check-fire for the battery must be given 30sec+TOF)

Lateral separation

The separation measure may be described by grid line, lat/long reference or terrain features.
E.g. “Stay east of grid line 45”or “Stay west of river”

Codeword and Authentication

Codewords

The following codewords are to be used for MA training when simulating non-secure comms.

Event	Codeword
RTB	MILLERTIME
OFF STN AAR	STATOIL
SAM LAUNCH	FLASH
SAM THREAT	STABBER
ARTILLERY	PUMPER
MORTAR	RABBIT

RAMROD

For Lat/Long, pass NORTH/SOUTH first, then EAST/WEST in degrees, minutes and tenths of minutes. Do not say “North” or “East”. Preface all encoded information with “RAMROD”.
For MGRS, GZD and 100000m identifier are read as per routine, then 6-10 digits are encoded with RAMROD.
In time-critical situation, target coordinates may be passed in the clear.

RAMROD to be used for MA training is:

D	A	N	G	E	R	B	O	Y	S
0	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9

Authentication Table

Communication Plan

General

Initial contact will be with ALO if able otherwise AWACS “Stingray” who will push aircraft to controlling JTAC on assigned net.

Air-to-Ground TAD Distribution

UNIT	C/S	PRIMARY	SECONDARY
ALO	GHOST10	ORANGE 513	BLUE 513
JTAC	STALKER1	ORANGE 514	BLUE 514
JTAC	STALKER2	ORANGE 515	BLUE 515
JTAC	STALKER3	ORANGE 516	BLUE 516

Air-to-Ground TAD Frequencies

TAD	Orange	Blue
513	42.000 MHz FM	342.000 MHz AM
514	44.000 MHz FM	344.000 MHz AM
515	46.000 MHz FM	346.000 MHz AM
516	48.000 MHz FM	348.000 MHz AM

CPs/IPs

CP	NAME	LAT/LONG	MGRS	DESCRIPTION
CAUCASUS 1	CASPER	N 42° 35.000' E 042° 35.000'	38T LN 020 170	Mountain Ridge
CAUCASUS 2	WENDY	-	-	-
SYRIA 1	CASPER	N 33° 06.500' E 035° 07.500'	36S XB 985 650	Naqoura Airfield
SYRIA 2	WENDY	-	-	-

IP	NAME	LAT/LONG	MGRS	DESCRIPTION
CAUCASUS 1	IP NORTH	-	-	-
CAUCASUS 2	IP EAST	-	-	-
CAUCASUS 3	IP SOUTH	-	-	-
CAUCASUS 4	IP WEST	-	-	-
SYRIA 1	IP NORTH	-	-	-
SYRIA 2	IP EAST	-	-	-
SYRIA 3	IP SOUTH	-	-	-
SYRIA 4	IP WEST	-	-	-

Battlespace Management Definitions

TBU