US Electronic Warfare: You’re Doing It Wrong
CSBA says the US is investing in the wrong jammers to counter Russia and China’s powerful EW forces. There's another approach that would exploit our adversaries’ weaknesses.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on November 21, 2019 at 4:03 AM
Despite rising budgets and high-level attention to electronic warfare, the Pentagon’s “efforts have been unfocused and are likely to fail,†warns a congressionally mandated study out today. What the US needs, the Center for Strategic & Budgetary Assessments report says, is a radically new approach that can outfox Russia and China.
In the much-delayed 2020 budget, the Pentagon requests $10.1 billion (in the unclassified budget) for electronic warfare – but the lion’s share goes to traditional platforms like the Next Generation Jammer for the Navy’s EA-18G Growler and the SEWIP system for surface warships. (The Army and Air Force have largely disbanded their EW corps and left the mission to the Navy since 1991, and they’re only now trying to rebuild). These platforms are big, they’re expensive, they have humans aboard, so they’re not expendable – yet their radars, radios, and jammers give away their presence to the enemy by emitting powerful signals.
https://breakingdefense.com/2019/11/electronic-warfare-youre-doing-it-wrong/?_ga=2.250118595.476898801.1574302861-196649634.1574302861
