NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, PATUXENT RIVER, Md. – Through innovation, agility and flexibility enabled by small businesses, the special surveillance program at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is providing critical intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to forces in theater.

In six months, the special surveillance program (SSP) developed, tested and fielded an aerostat known as the Persistent Ground Surveillance System (PGSS), used to protect Forward Operating Bases in Afghanistan.

“Today’s irregular warfare is very different from the conflicts of yesterday,” said Larry Hollingsworth, national director for avionics at NAVAIR. “The warfighters today aren’t asking for the means to taking out a target, they’re asking for help finding the targets.”

As the warfighter requests for in-theater ISR support typically are urgent needs requirements, SSP looks to the flexibility and innovation of small businesses to help execute their rapid prototyping and fielding efforts quickly.

“Our small businesses have a great track record of being able to innovate and move faster than the big companies out there,” said Emily Harman, director of NAVAIR’s small business office. “We know sometimes it can be challenging working with a big customer like the Navy, but the benefits projects like PGSS have to the warfighter are amazing.”

PGSS provides deployed forces the ability to detect approaching combatants from long distances. In 2009, SSP, with the help of its contractors, developed a working demonstration model — a 70-foot-long white blimp-shaped balloon, armed with detection sensors in 60 days. The first PGSS went operational in April 2010. Since then, many more have been deployed.

SSP has been directly supporting ISR needs for 10 years, and currently has assets deployed supporting six different combatant commanders.