US Army’s EMARSS system is a low-risk, low-cost enhanced ISR platform collecting, analysing and providing real-time intelligence information to war fighters instantly.

The EMARSS system consists of a King Air 350ER aircraft equipped with an electro-optic/infra-red (EO/IR) sensor, communications intelligence collection system, an aerial precision geolocation system, line-of-site tactical and beyond line-of-site communications suites, two Distributed Common Ground System-Army (DCGS-A) workstations and a self-protection suite.

The EMARSS contributes to filling critical gaps in the Airborne Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (AISR) coverage to be successful across the Range of Military Operations and especially in Irregular Warfare (IW) operations. The US Army will deploy four EMARSS aircraft in Afghanistan for assessing the forward capabilities of the aircraft. It is also currently deployed for operational missions in the SOUTHCOM and AFRICOM theaters. The regions these commands work are relatively low threat environments for American aircraft, but offer no shortage of work tracking drug smugglers, terrorists, and insurgents in remote areas.