Decision and control in army air defense: The AN/TSQ-73 missile minder

As the date for fielding the U. S. Army AN/TSQ-73 Missile Minder air defense system approaches, the Army is anticipating significant gains in faster reaction time. improved accuracy, enlarged portrayal of the air battle situation, and greater overall interoperability with interfacing command, control, and communication systems of all the services. The hardware packaging will permit the equipment to move and deploy as rapidly as the Surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) with which it is employed. A very important feature of the system is the benefits obtained using sophisticated electronics to enable the Army to use fewer operators and lower skilled maintenance personnel than the past systems. Incorporating advances in defense electronics and computer technology, the AN/TSQ-73 represents the fifth in a line of air defense command and control systems. This paper describes the forthcoming Missile Minder system and the benefits anticipated from its introduction to the field.