10 September 2017

Reinventing electronic warfare


The Pentagon’s recently completed Electronic Warfare strategy calls for increased investment in advanced electronic warfare technology designed for defense, as well as a proactive use of emerging electromagnetic spectrum systems to attack enemies.

While the new strategy is described by DOD as being “For Official Use Only” -- to be shared with relevant U.S. military developers and defense industry sources – officials familiar with its contents did describe some of it broad parameters and goals.

"The vision of the Electronic Warfare strategy is to be agile, adaptive and integrate electronic warfare to offensively achieve electromagnetic spectrum superiority across the range of military operations,” Pentagon spokeswoman Heather Babb told Defense Systems.

Babb further articulated that the strategic goals include organizing the electronic warfare enterprise to ensure electromagnetic spectrum superiority, training and equipping EW forces and strengthening partnerships with allies, industry and academia.

This DOD electronic warfare strategy took on new urgency following Russia’s successful use of advanced EW technologies in Ukraine and the pace of global technological progress in the area of EW systems, according to industry and government sources.

Electronic weapons can be used for an increasingly wide range of combat activities – from detecting and defending IED attacks to jamming enemy communications or even taking over control of enemy drones.

“Hardening the kill-chain,” for example, uses EW tactics to prevent an armed U.S. drone from being “hacked,” “jammed” or taken over by an enemy. Also, EW defenses can better secure radar signals, protect weapons guidance technologies and thwart attacks on larger platforms such as ships, fighter jets and tanks.

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