Defense Industries Battle to Manage the of Future Electronic Warfare

Leading electronic warfare (EW) defense contractors took center stage at a recent Association of Old Crows (AOC) conference, entitled "Joint Electronic Attack: AEA Operations Supporting Land, Sea, and Air," in Las Vegas, NV. The charge given to the speakers was to shed light on and sift through the challenges facing the US industrial base in developing next generation EW Battle Management (EWBM).

EWBM is a concept for a complex, but adaptable, network of communications, sensors and jammers to manage and control the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) in a given battlespace to both deliver warfighting effects and enable mission effectiveness. Mr. Jay Kistler from OSD/DDRE discussed overarching trends that are raising the bar for industry to develop and supply the Department of Defense (DOD) critical EW technologies and the solutions it needs. These trends include shifts in technical talent base with more focus on commercial applications and an increase in foreign expertise; a global increase in access to technology; and an ever more rapid pace for innovation. Each of these trends dramatically changes the way DOD does business and what it expects from industry.

The bottom line is that if the defense community does not understand the dynamic and ever-changing battle landscape, there is no way to keep US EW ahead of peer competitors. US EW management and control for the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) will flounder to the detriment of mission effectiveness. This, of course, does not mean that US defense industry carries the burden of responding to these trends. To the contrary, there are disconnects and gaps in DOD leadership and its requirements process, and technology performance demands that DOD has to address before industry can effectively provide robust and enduring technology solutions.

Industry speakers from BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, ITT, Boeing and Raytheon took turns offering solutions to this daunting challenge. Though each company shared status reports on key systems and capabilities under development, they were united in their view that the best, if not only, way to defeat a network is with a network. EWBM requires interconnected systems that are agile, flexible and, most importantly, interoperable. These characteristics extend not only to US systems, but also foreign partners' systems, a challenge that requires defense industry to overcome divergent program plans and spectrum management efforts.

To ensure EWBM continues to develop from concept to capability the partnership between DOD and industry must lead to focused and expedited investment in next-generation joint EW technologies that enhance electronic attack, electronic protection, electronic support and EMS control. These technologies should reflect the distributed, modular and scalable aspects of modern warfare while ensuring integrated and coordinated military effectiveness across the electromagnetic spectrum.

One potential solution highlighted by industry is a "publish and subscribe" approach to improve information exchange and required protocols. Similar to the existing "plug-and-play" approach, the "publish and subscribe" model orchestrates the desired network while protecting proprietary information. Furthermore, to help repair the requirements disconnect and ensure that warfighters have access to the technology they need in combat, industry suggests the implementation of a thorough system assessment process. This process would analyze every step of system development to check for vulnerabilities that can affect performance.

For all industry, the answers to EWBM challenges rest in understanding the customer. The E/A-18G Growler program recently completed a trade study to shape system architecture and future development requirements. The various recommendations from the study, such as beyond-line-of-sight data link connectivity, jam resistant Link 16 connectivity,and cockpit data and target correlation fusion, will inform Growler development and production.

Furthermore, industry shared its vision of the Combat Air Forces (CAF) System-of-Systems, which integrates Airborne Electronic Attack existing and next-generation technologies to provide a full spectrum capability. For example, Lockheed's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter provides an unprecedented access to tomorrow's warfighting complex enemy air defense environments. While each company is pursuing its own vision based upon its areas of expertise, they each came together on the need to reinforce government-industry partnerships that allow these visions to develop and integrate with each other.

Unfortunately, discussions about the future of EW and EWBM might be moot if the US cannot find a way to maintain the EW industrial base as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan draw down. The US is no longer a generation ahead in EW capabilities and requires a strong and superior industrial base that is critical to our national security. As it implements a managed reduction from wartime levels of spending, DOD must continue to advance critical EW technologies and ensure the ability to deliver capabilities required for current and future operations.