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Increased demand for electronic warfare (EW) systems is being driven by rapid technological advancements and the growing need for electronic protection capabilities.

Consequently, the Department of Defense (DoD) has put more emphasis in recent years on the development of electronic warfare applications and devices.

This is best illustrated by a nearly $1 billion agreement between the DoD and Northrop Grumman to acquire state of art Cyber Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) capabilities for the US Army.

The contract supported research and development for cyber and electronic warfare, integration, testing, performance verification, technical support, cybersecurity, and laboratory demonstrations.

Of particular interest is the attempt to integrate more AI tools into electronic warfare capabilities so that EW systems can operate in the dense radio frequency environment of the battlefield.

Loitering munitions are also figuring more prominently and have become a significant factor in EW and Command and Control now.

Analysts point out that modern warfare has made impressive strides in the areas of communications, radar and surveillance. Military Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) platforms are trying to cover the spectrum from HF to Ka band, sometimes over an enormous dynamic range.

Simultaneously, all efforts are on for improving EW technologies through means such as machine learning. While cognitive EW is a work in progress, the miniaturization and density of electronics components continue to increase. If cooling technology keeps up, this will drive Radio Frequency (RF) system functional consolidation and enhance sensor performance.

Many feel the future of EW devices will see continued advancements, especially regarding Active Electronically Scanned Arrays (AESAs). DoD’s aim is to build large or small totally digital arrays, where the electronics behind every element in the array, is digital and can be controlled in every aspect at the element level.

Additionally, in just a few years, expect to see very large, all-digital, precisely controlled arrays that are multi-function, multi-mode and capable of learning to be cooperative or disruptive as required.

These future EW arrays will likely be highly flexible, capable of SIGINT, Electronic Support Measures (ESM), Electronic Attack (EA), Radar positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) and communications, all from one array and one box, cognitively and adaptively controlled.

Want to learn more? Tonex offers Electronic Warfare Training Crash Course, a 4-day course designed for analysts, engineers, electrical engineers, project managers, electronic warfare technical professionals who design or operate radar systems and electronic warfare systems; and anyone involved in planning, design, analysis, simulation, requirements definition, performance specification, procurement, test, security and evaluation of electronic attack equipment.

Electronic Warfare Training Crash Course describes military action involving the use of electromagnetic (EM) and directed energy (DE) to control the EMS or to attack the enemy. 

Tonex offers several courses in Electronic Warfare, including:

Electronic Warfare Short Course (3 days)

Electronic Warfare Threat Modeling and Simulation Training (4 days)

For more information, questions, comments, contact us.

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