{"id":32620,"date":"2022-10-09T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-09T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2022\/10\/09\/jam-spoof-and-spy-us-army-looks-to-energize-electronic-warfare\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:30:57","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:30:57","slug":"jam-spoof-and-spy-us-army-looks-to-energize-electronic-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/electronic-warfare\/2022\/10\/09\/jam-spoof-and-spy-us-army-looks-to-energize-electronic-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"Jam, spoof and spy: US Army looks to energize electronic warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army is looking to air- and ground-launched platforms, such as drones, to more effectively wage electronic warfare, amid a Pentagon push to modernize arsenals and the expectation that long-held technology investments are set to pay off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officials involved in the effort point to two experiments: air-launched effects, or ALE; and ground-launched effects, or GLE. By outfitting them with kit capable of jamming, spoofing or collecting intelligence, the platforms could help deter and neutralize technologically advanced adversaries, such as China and Russia, during a conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGround to space, rear to deep: From a threat standpoint, we have to be prepared to operate in that entire range,\u201d Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, the deputy program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, said during an Aug. 30 event at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. \u201cAs we operate in this environment, we have to be enabling the larger Army priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air-launched effects are relatively low-cost drones or payloads catapulted midair by larger aircraft, either crewed or uncrewed. They are meant to detect, disrupt, deceive or destroy, and can sync with a larger family of battlefield tools. The Army considers them a crucial piece<\/a> of the future vertical lift effort meant to overhaul the helicopter fleet. The service is expected to spend billions of dollars in the next five years on both the future long-range assault aircraft and the future attack reconnaissance aircraft, according to fiscal 2023 budget justification documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coordination on air-launched effects between the electronic warfare camp and aviation officials is in the early stages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have some tech maturity investments happening next year in ALE, and we\u2019re going to share it,\u201d Mark Kitz, Barker\u2019s boss and the leader of Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors<\/a>, said at the same August event. \u201cThey\u2019re going to do sort of the vehicle piece, and we\u2019re going to do some electronic warfare prototyping. And we\u2019re going to integrate that together. So that\u2019ll be a partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The prototyping will shape the roles each community plays, or to whom the most work falls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
The Terrestrial Layer System is the Army\u2019s next generation tactical vehicle-based system that delivers signals intelligence, electronic warfare and cyberspace operations capabilities to deny, degrade, disrupt or manipulate enemy signals. (Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re just going to buy commercial technologies to integrate, I think aviation could probably handle all of that,\u201d Kitz said<\/a>. \u201cIf we\u2019re going to do some unique things, or some exquisite target or exquisite sort of EW, we\u2019ll do it as a partnership.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Already, the service is tinkering. The Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, a group focused on replacing legacy Army aircraft, worked with air-launched effects during the 2021 iterance of Project Convergence, a large-scale Army demonstration. During that exercise series, officials want to propel the Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept by putting cutting-edge tech to the test in demanding conditions. In addition, at an earlier Edge 21 exercise, air-launched sensors were used to collect and distribute real-time information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army has studied air-launched effects for years<\/a>. In 2020, the Army\u2019s Combat Capabilities Development Command published a related request for information detailing a future battlefield rife with \u201chighly lethal and complex\u201d targets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those targets, the documents stated<\/a>, \u201cwill include networked and mobile air defense systems with extended ranges and long- and mid-range fires systems that will deny freedom of maneuver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even less mature are the ground-launched effects, which Kitz said lack actual requirements. Early stage experimenting with the ground-launched systems coupled with industry consultation could inform the path forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re just looking at doing some prototyping to figure out: OK, what types of effects, what types of collection, could we get?\u201d he said. \u201cVery small. There\u2019s not a ton of power. So what could we actually deliver? These are the types of things that we\u2019re asking industry<\/a>: What can you do?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kitz has yet to be involved in a GLE industry day, an indication of the endeavor\u2019s infancy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Electronic warfare in the wild<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Air- and ground-launched effects are part of a grander vision for U.S. electronic warfare. EW, as it is known, is a fight for control of the electromagnetic spectrum, relied upon for weapons guidance, communications, situational awareness and more. While EW lacks the bluster of bursting bombs or thundering tanks, it can be pivotal<\/a>, considering the sensitive digital portfolio of modern militaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army is rethinking its networks, sensors and EW armory after decades of counterterrorism operations in the Middle East \u2014 a period when electronic systems were at less risk of harassment, and when U.S. and allied troops engaged forces outfitted with less-advanced gear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Sgt.
A U.S. Army paratrooper uses electronic warfare equipment at Grafenwoehr Training Area, Germany, on July 28, 2020. (Spc. Mathew Pous\/U.S. Army)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The U.S. Defense Department<\/a> is preparing for potential fights against China and Russia. The two world powers have constructed anti-access and area-denial infrastructure in an attempt to counter U.S. strengths and keep at bay forces or weapons that could overwhelm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cReally, what the Army is asking for electronic warfare is: How do you deliver an integrated architecture that will help me operate in the air and on the ground? And how can electronic warfare enable some of those future operations, whether that\u2019s a [future attack reconnaissance aircraft], whether that\u2019s an [optionally manned fighting vehicle], whether that\u2019s long-range precision targeting, in terms of long-range sensing?\u201d Kitz said. \u201cAll of that sort of integrated architecture is what we\u2019re attempting to deliver.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PEO IEW&S tests and fields a variety of defense kit, including navigation suites, missile warning systems and biometric tools. The office\u2019s reach is long, and its portfolio touches \u201ceverything from the sights on an Abrams tank<\/a>\u201d to \u201cidentity access of somebody driving on the Redstone Arsenal,\u201d Barker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among other Army EW pursuits are programs known as the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team, or TLS-BCT; the Terrestrial Layer System-Echelons Above Brigade, or TLS-EAB; and the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare-Air Large, or MFEW-AL. Each serves its own purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service in July awarded a nearly $59 million contract<\/a> to Lockheed Martin to furnish prototypes for TLS-BCT. In August, the Army inked separate deals with Lockheed and General Dynamics Mission Systems for TLS-EAB concepts and demonstrations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The self-contained MFEW-AL pod is made by Lockheed, too. Together, the trio will provide to soldiers a bevy of electronic warfare, signals intelligence and cyber capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Army is developing force structure, developing doctrine, developing training \u2014 whether it\u2019s leader, individual or collective training,\u201d William Utroska<\/a>, a leader at PEO IEW&S, said Aug. 30. \u201cAnd at the same time, we\u2019re trying to develop systems to address our needs from an EW and cyber perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t