Support relationships and missions
The battery commander is the brigade ADA officer. Therefore, he must respond to the supported commander's scheme of maneuvre. ADA planning must be top-down. The battery commander integrates his battery into the brigade scheme of maneuvre while positioning his forces to defeat the air threat. Based on the battery commander's guidance, the brigade commander can retain all allocated ADA or can suballocate some of the ADA to infantry battalion(s). The battery commander and S2 produce a coordinated sensor plan, ADA scheme of manouvre, command and control, early warning, and all arms for air defence, in response to each probable enemy course of action.
The battalion commander must assign tactical missions to the ADA element and establish priorities for air defense, to properly employ air defense assets - for example, specific companies or choke points. He also can give guidelines for selecting firing positions. The ADA unit leader then positions his weapons to support the battalion. The battalion provides CSS to the attached ADA elements and coordinates with the ADA headquarters for CSS equipment and personnel needed for the ADA attached element.
Employment
Planners must consider the following before air defense weapons are tactically employed to support the battalion.
Air avenues of approach are determined jointly by the ADA officer, S2, and ALO. Their decisions are disseminated to subordinates. Pilots of rotary and fixed-wing aircraft choose terrain to avoid ADA fires and radar detection; they avoid overflying friendly positions; and they use major terrain features to help them navigate.
The battalion's employment of ADA support is based on the commander's air defense priorities. These priorities are developed with the help of the ADA officer. They change during the course of an operation. Priorities for air defense protection are based on the enemy threat, the importance of the asset to the mission, the vulnerability of the asset to enemy destruction by air attack, and the ability of the asset to recover and continue to function after the attack. In determining priorities for attached assets, the commanders consider the coverage provided by other air defense systems.
In offensive operations, the battalion air defense priority goes to companies. Each company should be supported by one or more MANPADS teams. The company can be supported by ADA if it has one or more critical missions or more vulnerable to air attack than others.
In defensive operations, the priority shifts to battalion fire support, command and control, and logistical assets. Companies relying on passive air defense measures and moving on covered and concealed routes are ineligible for dedicated ADA support. Typical priorities might be mortar platoon first, battalion TOC second, trains third, maneuver companies fourth.
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