{"id":15222,"date":"2021-06-17T15:06:24","date_gmt":"2021-06-17T15:06:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2021\/06\/17\/us-air-force-attempts-to-awaken-spectrum-ops-after-decades-of-waning-electromagnetic-warfare\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T17:47:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T17:47:05","slug":"us-air-force-attempts-to-awaken-spectrum-ops-after-decades-of-waning-electromagnetic-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/electronic-warfare\/2021\/06\/17\/us-air-force-attempts-to-awaken-spectrum-ops-after-decades-of-waning-electromagnetic-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"US Air Force attempts to awaken spectrum ops after decades of waning electromagnetic warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 U.S. Air Force electromagnetic spectrum operations were so meager over the last few decades that the service\u2019s top official said recently that it had been \u201casleep at the wheel<\/a>\u201d on electronic warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the steps to turn around 30 years of decline and to modernize platforms that date to the Vietnam War, the Air Force reorganized how it manages such operations and is prioritizing easier-to-update technology to keep ahead of China, Russia and other highly adept nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the same time, details about the Air Force plan are limited because the service has not publicly shared the electromagnetic spectrum superiority strategy it completed this spring. Lawmakers have called on the service to increase its efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army, by contrast, has broadly discussed its plans in recent years to address how far it fell behind competitors, openly outlining a near complete overhaul of spectrum operations \u2014 from new<\/a> systems<\/a> to new personnel and units<\/a>. But the Air Force does not provide top-line numbers for its spending on electromagnetic spectrum efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new strategy comes as nations have noted the opportunity to disrupt U.S. forces through the spectrum, adopting high-tech methods to block access and jam or spoof communications. They use advanced radars to detect U.S. assets from great distances to prevent sneak attacks, and the American military\u2019s chances for success diminish when it can\u2019t communicate reliably with friendly forces over electromagnetic waves or locate targets because munitions or other systems are jammed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, software-defined systems, which drive electronic maneuvers that could save money over munitions, are a large part of the Air Force\u2019s answer to these challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Chief of Staff Gen. Charles \u201cC.Q.\u201d Brown put it earlier this year<\/a>: \u201cIn some aspects, an electron is much cheaper than a very expensive missile.\u201d By adopting new capabilities with simple software upgrades, the Air Force could stay abreast with the latest technology to ferret out enemies through their spectrum activities and better shield communications, navigation and data transfers across the waves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (AFPN) — An EC-130H Compass Call aircraft from the 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron refuels while flying a mission over Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Squadron airmen will return home soon to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz. (U.S Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Luis Drummond)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Col. William Young, spectrum warfare special adviser at the Air Force, cited software-defined radios as one adaptable technology example, calling them \u201cthe equivalent of a Swiss Army knife.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou can think of all the different activities that you can conduct in and through the electromagnetic spectrum \u2014 communications, sensing, jamming \u2026 you can make it do different things or the equivalent of a different blade just by changing the software,\u201d he said in April at the C4ISRNET Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Getting organized<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the lack of specifics on the Air Force spectrum plan, the service\u2019s actions over the past few years and senior leaders\u2019 comments help build a picture of a new course. The Air Force adopted three non-materiel conclusions from its 2018 spectrum superiority study:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Establish an EMS superiority directorate in Air Force headquarters for more unified oversight.<\/li>
  2. Consolidate EMS services and software programming into one organization to improve results.<\/li>
  3. Create servicewide education programs to develop an EMS \u201cwarrior ethos\u201d and incorporate EMS into more exercises to raise the concept\u2019s profile.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Service officials have said getting the right leadership and organizational structures in place was the needed foundation to build on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWhat we looked at is that there were no shortage of previous studies that had identified materiel gaps,\u201d Young said. \u201cWhat we found was lacking [were] those other three things; we weren\u2019t able to build sustainable momentum. We might buy something, but then if you don\u2019t fix all the other structures around it, then you\u2019re unable to continue to progress that initial investment or that capability that you bought so that it actually is able to reap the large return on investment that the technology initially promised.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The new spectrum superiority directorate, located within the A5 strategy section of the staff, takes a day-to-day look at electronic warfare and electromagnetic strategy. And the Air Force elevated its Spectrum Management Office to headquarters level within the A2\/6 intelligence and cyber section. The office defends and ensures access to the spectrum for the Air Force and other combatant commands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The organizational changes already \u201cpaid some huge dividends,\u201d Col. Kenneth Miller, the Spectrum Management Office commander, told C4ISRNET. Adding the office to the Air Staff \u201cputs us on par with our service peers in the Army and Navy-Marine Corps,\u201d he said, noting that his office is located with his counterparts in those services to help connect their efforts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The office has graduated from simply assigning systems spectrum frequencies to supporting forces on spectrum activities that help with electronic warfare. While the office is not directly tied to materiel needs and purchasing, adding it to the Air Staff helps leaders share spectrum expertise with the acquisition community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Beyond the headquarters shifts, the Air Force in 2019 created its first information warfare unit, 16th Air Force<\/a>, the operational focal point for electronic warfare, and a Spectrum Warfare Wing<\/a> will activate around June.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Increasingly, many people within and outside the DoD view electromagnetic spectrum capabilities as one piece of the larger information environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cOne of the things we\u2019re trying to emphasize more and more is in addition to any of the challenges that we have noted directly with things like EMSO [electromagnetic spectrum operations] is the overlapping and interrelationship with the broader information environment,\u201d said Joseph Kirschbaum, director in the Government Accountability Office\u2019s Defense Capabilities and Management team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The creation of 16th Air Force to integrate various capabilities was encouraging, he said. \u201cThat\u2019s a very good sign that they\u2019re starting to think about these things holistically.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Investing in new systems<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Organizational moves alone aren\u2019t enough, the service\u2019s chief of staff has noted. As the Air Force modernizes older systems, Brown has lauded software-defined capabilities<\/a> to adapt to rapidly changing threats and possibly save money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cWe\u2019ve got to think about the cost curve\u201d when weighing kinetic and nonkinetic maneuvers, Brown said earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Brig. Gen. Mike Manion, director of Air Force EMS, said the service can\u2019t retrofit all its systems but has a \u201csignificant effort underway\u201d to update many platforms. \u201cEspecially if it\u2019s going to be a software-defined fight as we think it is, then we need the infrastructure and the human capital in place that can rapidly reprogram to counter those threats.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \"\"
    Senior Airman Whitni Orgass, a 41st Expeditionary Electronic Combat Squadron cryptological language analyst, works at her station aboard an EC-130 Compass Call aircraft on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, March 23, 2013. The 41st EECS flies nightly missions in support of troops on the ground. (Staff Sgt. David Dobrydney\/Air Force)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

    One example is the EC-130H Compass Call, the Air Force\u2019s only dedicated electronic attack aircraft. The service is modernizing the system to a version called EC-37, transitioning the platform from a C-130 to a Gulfstream 550.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cIt\u2019s going to be software defined, hardware dynamic, and it\u2019s capabilities are going to leverage off the rapid reprogramming of the spectrum warfare win,\u201d Manion said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The Air Force needs revolutionary tactics to create \u201cmultiple dilemmas for the enemy using multiple planes and multiple apertures to coherently disrupt and defeat the enemy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Some outside experts warned the Air Force is not moving fast enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cThe Air Force is evolving its EW [electronic warfare] and EMSO capabilities to a more distributed set of platforms and systems, but not very quickly. While the Marine Corps and to a lesser degree the Army are fielding more numerous EW systems and pushing them down to lower echelons, the Air Force still will mostly have its EW systems hosted on large, manned multimission platforms,\u201d said Bryan Clark, director of the Center for Defense Concepts and Technology at the Hudson Institute. The approach increases pilots\u2019 risk of detection, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lawmakers acknowledged progress but pushed the Air Force to do more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cI appreciate the Chief\u2019s commitment to restoring our EW pre-eminence,\u201d Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, a former Air Force electronic warfare official, told C4SIRNET in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \u201cControl of the electromagnetic spectrum underpins every aspect of our military power in air, land, sea, space and cyberspace so this isn\u2019t a competition we can afford to lose,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019ve recently seen some encouraging signs of life from the Pentagon, but I don\u2019t believe we are aggressive enough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    The service has taken a number of steps to improve its electromagnetic spectrum posture \u2014 from reorganizing oversight to relying more on adaptable technologies. Lawmakers have pushed the Air Force to do more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":32085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":12,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":{"4":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters"],"primary_category":"daily-news-roundup"},"10":{"categories":["daily-news-roundup","newsletters","air"],"primary_category":"air"}}},"categories":[106,12,29,32],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3268],"class_list":["post-15222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-brief","category-electronic-warfare","category-home","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"LROSHXE5JFGJ5BX3FDI67ZHID4","arc_canonical_url":"\/electronic-warfare\/2021\/06\/17\/us-air-force-attempts-to-awaken-spectrum-ops-after-decades-of-waning-electromagnetic-warfare\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nUS Air Force attempts to awaken spectrum ops after decades of waning electromagnetic warfare - C4ISRNet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The service has taken a number of steps to improve its electromagnetic spectrum posture \u2014 from reorganizing oversight to relying more on adaptable technologies. 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