LETTER FROM AOC PRESIDENT BOB ELDER: Electronic Warfare Advocacy
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Electronic warfare plays an increasingly important role in national
security strategy with EW capabilities serving as key enablers for all
military operations, from irregular warfare to major combat campaigns.
Unfortunately, many policymakers do not fully understand the
significance of EW, the electromagnetic spectrum and its many related
issues. AOC performs an important role by educating key political
leaders, engaging with military and industry, and advocating policies to
support EW.
AOC is now working to facilitate regular events – including panel discussions, briefings, and site visits – to educate, promote, support, and explore issues related to EW. Our goal is to encourage broader international support for EW and a greater understanding of the critical role of EW and IO in military operations. As part of this initiative, AOC will encourage Members of Congress with EW equities or interests to join the EW Working Group (EWWG) and will work to form similar working groups in other nations.
As part of this program, AOC promotes regular engagements with the Military Services, think-tanks and industry. AOC also helps working groups prepare requests for official U.S. DoD and other defense ministry reports on the status of EW operations, platforms and plans for the future of EW. As a first step, AOC is drafting a report that outlines the key issues, major concerns and top priorities of AOC members for use by the EW Working Group in the U.S. and similar groups to be established in other nations.
Specific areas of interest include international EW strategy and acquisition policies, Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) management, EW role in contested operations, EW industrial base sustainment, technology advancement, diminishing capability replacement, budget constraints, EW and stealth operational integration, potential export of advanced EW technologies, networking electronic attack and electronic attack in Effects-Based Operations (EBO).
Declining budgets threaten the acquisition of new electronic warfare and electronic attack capabilities at the time these capabilities are most needed. EW programs can play a vital role in protecting important platforms and technologies, and investing in EW can potentially generate savings by creating efficiencies, lowering life cycle costs of older programs and enabling other force structure reductions.
AOC activities to support this initiative will provide regular communications with key government decision-makers and staff on key EW issues and developments, including studies, reports and military activities. AOC also will facilitate industry-led discussions with members and staff on EW technologies and industrial base capabilities, as well as visits to key EW sites, including government installations and industrial facilities. The use of on-site workshops will expose decision-makers and their staffs to Electronic Warfare experts from government, industry and academia to discuss topics such as technology advancements, acquisition strategies, budget threats and operational utility.
Today's budget challenges provide the EW/IO community opportunities to open discussions on the important contributions of EW and IO, and the need to resource them properly to allow other military capabilities to operate effectively. I challenge every AOC member to tell this story to your elected representatives. Our militaries cannot afford to operate in contested environments with outdated EW or IO capabilities.
AOC is now working to facilitate regular events – including panel discussions, briefings, and site visits – to educate, promote, support, and explore issues related to EW. Our goal is to encourage broader international support for EW and a greater understanding of the critical role of EW and IO in military operations. As part of this initiative, AOC will encourage Members of Congress with EW equities or interests to join the EW Working Group (EWWG) and will work to form similar working groups in other nations.
As part of this program, AOC promotes regular engagements with the Military Services, think-tanks and industry. AOC also helps working groups prepare requests for official U.S. DoD and other defense ministry reports on the status of EW operations, platforms and plans for the future of EW. As a first step, AOC is drafting a report that outlines the key issues, major concerns and top priorities of AOC members for use by the EW Working Group in the U.S. and similar groups to be established in other nations.
Specific areas of interest include international EW strategy and acquisition policies, Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) management, EW role in contested operations, EW industrial base sustainment, technology advancement, diminishing capability replacement, budget constraints, EW and stealth operational integration, potential export of advanced EW technologies, networking electronic attack and electronic attack in Effects-Based Operations (EBO).
Declining budgets threaten the acquisition of new electronic warfare and electronic attack capabilities at the time these capabilities are most needed. EW programs can play a vital role in protecting important platforms and technologies, and investing in EW can potentially generate savings by creating efficiencies, lowering life cycle costs of older programs and enabling other force structure reductions.
AOC activities to support this initiative will provide regular communications with key government decision-makers and staff on key EW issues and developments, including studies, reports and military activities. AOC also will facilitate industry-led discussions with members and staff on EW technologies and industrial base capabilities, as well as visits to key EW sites, including government installations and industrial facilities. The use of on-site workshops will expose decision-makers and their staffs to Electronic Warfare experts from government, industry and academia to discuss topics such as technology advancements, acquisition strategies, budget threats and operational utility.
Today's budget challenges provide the EW/IO community opportunities to open discussions on the important contributions of EW and IO, and the need to resource them properly to allow other military capabilities to operate effectively. I challenge every AOC member to tell this story to your elected representatives. Our militaries cannot afford to operate in contested environments with outdated EW or IO capabilities.
