{"id":20044,"date":"2019-09-04T18:27:11","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T18:27:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/09\/04\/measuring-progress-on-the-armys-electronic-warfare-renaissance\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:04:27","slug":"measuring-progress-on-the-armys-electronic-warfare-renaissance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/electronic-warfare\/2019\/09\/04\/measuring-progress-on-the-armys-electronic-warfare-renaissance\/","title":{"rendered":"Measuring progress on the Army\u2019s electronic warfare renaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Army leaders say they are making progress in rebuilding the service\u2019s electronic warfare capabilities through its ranks and its equipment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the conclusion of the Cold War, the service divested the majority of its electronic warfare tools. Since then, much of the electronic warfare equipment has lacked the sophistication needed to compete against peer threats. Instead it has been designed to combat improvised explosive devices used by insurgent groups in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that\u2019s changed in recent years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re really at a renaissance [with] electronic warfare,\u201d Col. Kevin Finch, program manager for electronic warfare and cyber at Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, said Aug. 23 at TechNet Augusta. \u201cWe have a force that hasn\u2019t had EW equipment \u2026 We have a generation of leaders that have to learn what EW is all about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army is taking these problems \u2014 lack of electronic warfare professionals and actual equipment, namely, jammers \u2014 head on and simultaneously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building the force<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of October 2018, electronic warfare personnel were folded into the Army\u2019s cyber branch, often referred to as the <\/b>17 series. Officials said this will allow the service to build a more holistic information warfare force, given the similarities between cyber operations and electronic warfare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maj. Gen. Neil Hersey, commander of the Cyber Center of Excellence, told reporters Aug. 22 at the TechNet Augusta conference, that this creates a \u201cmulti-skilled officer.” He explained on the enlisted side, the Army expanded its functional electronic warfare course from nine weeks to 32 weeks. There, they\u2019ll learn about the theory of electronic warfare as well as the equipment they\u2019ll use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThink of it as akin to [how] we have our traditional SOF \u2026 and then you have your very, very high-end SOF in [Joint Special Operations Command]. That is sort of the model we\u2019re putting in place,\u201d Maj. Gen. John Morrison, who previously served as the commander of the Cyber Center of Excellence, said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

JSOC refers to the elite special operations units such as Naval Special Warfare Development Group \u2014 better known as SEAL Team 6 \u2014 and Delta Force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll have tactical cyber operators \u2026 then the very, very, very best will move into the cyber mission force,\u201d Morrison said, referring to the cyber warrior cadre that serves U.S. Cyber Command and conduct remote cyber operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the operational force, there will exist planners and operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hersey said the planning elements \u2014 called cyber and electromagnetic activities (CEMA) cells<\/a> \u2014 at each echelon will inform commanders of what capabilities reside where and how to use them to accomplish their mission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the operational mission side, Hersey said the planning elements will plug into units on the ground. The Army is creating the 915th Cyber Warfare Support Battalion, which will be able to conduct local cyber and electromagnetic spectrum effects on the ground. In some cases, they will work with Cyber Command.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hersey said today there are more staff officers than operators in the electronic warfare force, but the Army is working to boost the number of operators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One way to do this is for electronic warfare soldiers could go to a formation \u2014 depending on the needs of the Army \u2014 such as an electronic warfare platoon or a staff section. Officers will be team leaders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the cyber side, soldiers could go to the Cyber Warfare Support Battalion or the cyber mission force working on defensive cyber operators on a cyber protection team or the offensive mission on a mission team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of opportunities for different types of echelon work within the [electronic warfare] career field. I think one of the benefits is we\u2019re going to have officers throughout their career that are going to be able to work at both the tactical, operational and strategic level and bring those capabilities and skillsets to those formations,\u201d Hersey said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equipping soldiers<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the equipping front, the Army is following a \u201cbuild, fix, learn\u201d methodology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe build something, we give it to the soldiers, then we learn from it and then we fix whatever that is,\u201d Finch said.<\/p>\n\n\n\t