April 6, 2011
ARCHIVE/SUBSCRIBEEW/SIGINT RESOURCE GUIDE  |
STORY OF THE WEEK: Report from the EW Industry Gatekeepers Meeting
More than 180 attended the two-day Joint Electronic Attack Conference, focused on Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA) operations supporting land, sea and air. Keynote speakers Maj General David Scott, AF/A5R, Maj General Jon Davis, USMC and Mr. Jay Kistler SES, OSD, discussed key issues facing the EW community in terms of requirements reform and future steps. Another 170 attended the three-day EW Modeling & Simulation Conference, featuring a variety of military and industry speakers discussing how to handle the unique challenges faced as forces train in today’s contested EMS battlespace. A highlight of both conferences was the inaugural meeting of the AOC EW Industry Gatekeepers. The Gatekeepers are an advisory council of leaders from EW industry who passionately work to ensure that the community works together to provide present and future electronic warfare capabilities and advises the AOC on how to best serve the community. The Gatekeepers meeting tackled several of the same questions discussed during the EW Military Gatekeepers meeting in January at Pt. Mugu, offering valuable perspective on how industry views challenges facing the EW community as a whole. Discussion focused on these questions: 1. What do you perceive as the biggest threat to future EW and EMS capabilities? Where military identified the ongoing need for advancement of education in the art and science of EW, as well as the need for EW leaders to avoid capability gaps with enemy systems due to slow downs after major conflicts, industry leaders noted the need for better education of their military customers on what they can offer to better meet service requirements. The challenges industry faces in managing their financial resources while responding to the existing RFI/RFP process was debated, with many leaders noting that the system places a strain on their ability to provide solutions. Also noted was the toll that the disappearance of many long-term EW communities (Prowler downsizing, etc.) places on the ability of the military to plan requirements and to understand and evaluate the solutions industry can provide. 2. What future technology is a potential game changer and are we prepared to handle this technology? Industry leaders joined their military counterparts in noting the significance of Dynamic Spectrum Allocation as users compete for congested areas of the spectrum and as commercial industry and our enemies learn how to operate more effectively in the contested environment. Industry leaders also discussed the need to better fuse EW and cyber, noting that from an outside perspective, the debate between the two is difficult to understand because industry views the issue from the standpoint of how they can work together and not in terms of the DOD organizational structure. 3. Given impending budget constraints within DOD, what is the most important capability to invest in for future EW/EMS operations? The services focused on the need for EW Battle Management and improved interoperability, however, industry noted, again, the need for improvements to the requirements process that allow companies to better manage their resources in tight economic times. Also noted was the need for better alignment of the EW and cyber missions to allow for technology fusion and to ensure that separate silos can operate cooperatively to improve overall capabilities. 4. How can the AOC optimally facilitate your concerns to the larger community? The AOC was asked to continue in its role as a relevant and credible organization to the EW profession and its professionals and to expand its role linking people from industry with those in the services and academia to help industry better understand how to tackle some of the challenges facing the EW community. Feedback from both the Military and Industry Gatekeepers groups has assisted the AOC in identifying communities of interest (COIs), to focus around key community areas. As we build these, look for changes to the crows.org website to support them. This will tie into long-term support for each community, including an annual conference, professional courses and an online presence. The first two COIs coming on line in 2011 include Information Operations, already in practice as a focused community, and Mission Data, as identified at the December 2010 EW Reprogramming Conference, focusing on intelligence integration and sharing of data across all users. COIs planned for launch in 2012 include Collaboration (EW Battle Management), Evolving Capabilities (Research and Development, Science and Technology), Life Cycle Management (Requirements/Acquisition), Development of Tactics, Techniques and Procedure (Training, Modeling and Simulation). Both these Gatekeepers groups are essential to the development of partnerships for a strong EW and AOC will plan to continue holding these key meetings. To get involved with the next EW Gatekeepers meeting or with any of the COIs contact Norm Balchunas, balchunas@crows.org. |
|
Print this Article1000 North Payne Street, Suite 200 | Alexandria, Virginia 22314-1652 | Phone: 703-549-1600 | Fax: 703-549-2589
