Army Aviation Warfighting Center
15
PLANNING CELL CONSIDERATIONS
nMISSION PROFILE
nPLAN WORST CASE
nCONTINGENCY PLANS
1.  Ambient light - Ambient light information may be obtained from a weather forecaster or a light level planning calendar (see Appendix F).  Ambient light must be considered when planning NVG missions.  It is important to understand that the amount of lunar light is dependent on the percentage of the illumination, the angle of the moon above the horizon of the earth, and the amount of cloud cover between the moon and the earth.  Ambient light should be considered when selecting the following:
a.  Flight routes.
b.  Checkpoints/air control points.
c.  Airspeeds/altitudes. (Should be reduced during low ambient light conditions.)
d.  Mission times. (Takeoff, enroute, time on station and return, and landing time.)
e.  Infrared light requirement - An infrared (IR) search/landing light must be operational before NVG operations are conducted.  If the IR light becomes inoperable during the mission, the PC must evaluate the impact on the mission.  PC actions may vary from a minor adjustment of the mission to the termination of the flight.