According to the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio — The Air Force has developed a technology that helps identify friendly forces during combat exercises. This can dramatically reduce friendly fire incidents in training, and potentially on the battlefield.
The Air Force, working with Lumitex Inc., has developed and fielded the Target Recognition Operator Notification, or TRON, system which has the potential to save lives and increase combat effectiveness. Not to be confused with the 1982 Walt Disney hit TRON, this system (which stands for “Target Recognition Operator Notification”) helps to visually identify friend forces. “Responding to established needs,” said 1st Lt. TJ Turner, the lead engineer for combat support technology, the Air Force and its partner Lumitex, produced a fiber optic cloth that researchers realized could be used to develop a more accurate system of identification. The Air Force acquired the fiber optic cloth and worked closely with Lumitex, and user groups to create the TRON system and produced 108 prototypes in a period of six months. They used funds from their company grade officer’s initiative program, which provides lieutenants and captains the opportunity to receive funding to work on a special projects outside their core technology area.
