Is your electronic warfare capability ready for the future battlespace?

Twenty years ago, the electromagnetic battlespace was entirely different to what it is today. There was only a very restricted pool of low-tech, easy to defeat commercial threat devices repurposed by the adversary that military personnel needed to defend against - a very different story to today's saturated threat environment. One of the most prevalent responses to these threats initially came in the form of a radio frequency (RF) jamming capability. These man-wearable or platform-mountable boxes would block trigger signals being sent by the adversary from a transmitter to a receiver to prevent threat to life from radio-controlled improvised explosive devices (RCIEDs).

At the time, the introduction of this technology was revolutionary, and it is still a highly relevant, mission-critical capability that many forces rely on today. The problem is that these threat devices are constantly evolving, and the diversity of capabilities now leveraged by our adversaries is starting to require a different approach. As the demand for reliable radio communications continues to increase, the electromagnetic spectrum is becoming ever-more congested, driving a gradual transition to easily accessible commercial off-the-shelf devices. Many terrorists are repurposing these devices in order to inflict harm and deter military personnel; that's without mention of the state sponsored and peer adversaries who have access to even greater threat capability.

This rapidly shifting threat landscape requires an equally rapid response from innovative, agile solutions that are purpose-built to keep commanders one step ahead. What's more, as the line between electronic warfare (EW) and cyber-based threats continues to become blurred, modern EW solutions need to be ready for this evolving character of warfare by design. The issue is the response technology hasn't really changed along with the threat. Warfighting capability is still largely focused on the immediate and near-term threat environment, rather than addressing the wider picture. It mainly reacts to new threats by creating new equipment that only solves challenges that exist in the here and now, instead of considering what might emerge in the future.

Where legacy EW electronic countermeasure systems have previously focused on spectrum denial , the next generation of EW capability must now prioritise spectrum control , enabling commanders to gain true spectrum superiority.

What does this mean for Defence? Much of Defence is held back from making progress along this evolutionary path by budget constraints and lengthy procurement protocols, only seeking capability that meets current requirements as a result. The protection of its people remains the priority, therefore many maintain a focus on procuring technology that achieves that outcome above all else. This outlook is different, however, for many Research and Development (R&D) driven organisations.

With the rapid pace of change within the modern threat environment a primary consideration, many are now looking to sufficiently prepare and protect against threats that haven't been encountered yet. Because the threat space is moving so quickly, it's becoming impossible to keep pace with adversaries without harnessing capabilities that offer multi-role functionality. To stay ahead, we need to be able to deliver a defeat system to a new threat at the same speed at which it emerges. While we can't predict what the future battlespace might look like, we can ensure we have the flexibility and capability to deal with threats as they arise.

LINK:	https://www.l3harris.com/newsroom/editorial/2022/09/your-electronic-wa...
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