The United States Army Electronic Warfare (EW)

The United States Army electronic warfare (EW) institution is in its infancy when compared to that of most other services. Following the Cold War, seeing no significant electronic threat to ground forces and attempting to create efficiencies within the Army, the decision was made to dismantle and retire the Army EW platforms. “The Army chose to focus on other priorities…the only thing the Army had was helicopter self-protect equipment and SIGINT.” Thus, the Army had voluntarily given up its ability to dominate the electronic spectrum and instituted a strategy that was reliant on the Navy and Air Force for EW support. In 2003, as counter insurgency operations in Iraq began, the ground forces saw a new threat emerge on the battlefield in …show more content…
The R-CIED became a low tech, low cost weapon which our adversaries effectively and routinely employed against ground elements. As Colonel Jim Pryor, the chief of the Electronic Warfare division for the United States Air Force stated, “Iraq had become the most intense EW ground environment in the history of warfare and the fighting was all one sided.” Realizing its capability gap, the Army rapidly invested in the acquisition and fielding of counter radio controlled improvised explosive devices (CREW). The Army surged from 0 to 30,000 jammers in less than 10 years. Ever since, “EW for the land forces, really only exists in one realm—the Counter RCIED EW system.” The asymmetric threat that the Army faced did give Army EW the momentum it needed to create better capabilities and processes. Reliance on the Air Force and Navy was soon determined to be and unacceptable solution. As General Joseph Dunford stated, “typical disaggregation of an infantry battalion across the battlefield was 77 discreet units spread over a wide area.” Reliance on other services was not a feasible option and the Army needed it’s own 24/7 EW force. Therefore, the Army refocused its efforts by developing new doctrine to enhance Army electronic warfare of the future and develop a capability that goes beyond …show more content…
It will include a planning and management tool that will allow electronic warfare officers to integrate EW into the ground force commanders scheme of maneuver by planning, synchronizing, and de-conflicting electronic attack and electronic support capabilities between ground and air elements. IEWS will also include a defensive electronic attack capability, which will be a more enhanced version of the current CREW systems, but will be able to defend against more than just R-CIEDS.
The Army’s efforts to create a decisive advantage in the electromagnetic spectrum extend beyond just technology, they are also developing the necessary human capital. In the early 2000s, the Army had no dedicated electronic warfare officers (EWOs). EWOs were Soldiers from within a unit that received a few additional classes of EW training. Now, the Army has made EW a core competency. The Army is maturing an EW career field through a rigorous training program to develop electromagnetic subject matter experts that can advise the ground commander on the full employment of electromagnetic spectrum