AOC ON CAPITOL HILL: EW Working Group talks to EW Industry Leaders
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Last month, the Congressional Electronic Warfare Working Group (EWWG), in cooperation with the AOC, convened an EW industry roundtable to discuss thoughts and recommendations on key issues facing our defense industry. The EWWG welcomed senior executives from BAE Systems, Boeing, Exelis, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Raytheon. The Working Group was represented by Rep. Rick Larsen (WA-02) and Rep. Jackie Walorski (IN-02). Senior legislative staff from Reps. James Langevin (RI-02), Todd Young (IN-09), Richard Hanna (NY-22) and Daniel Maffei (NY-24) were also in attendance.
The event focused on three key issues facing Congress over the next several years, beginning with the commencement of FY2015 defense budget process. The first issue is the need for comprehensive acquisition reform, but reform that specifically accounts for the unique challenges facing the EW discipline. EW is sorely missing leadership and coordination throughout the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), especially within Acquisition,Technology and Logistics (AT&L). Today, the OSD manages most of its EW planning and oversight via ad hoc committees and steering groups. As defense budgets tighten in the coming years, the Defense Department (DoD) needs an investment and acquisition strategy to ensure the timely development and fielding of next generation capabilities. Acquisition reform is also necessary for DoD to better manage its EW portfolio through addressing concerns surrounding requirements definition and rigidity, risk identification, redundancy, and leveraging industry IR&D funds. Specifically, Congress should provide rigorous oversight of the services EW investments to ensure a coordinated strategy that reduces redundancies, maximizes efficiencies and helps stabilize the defense industrial base.
The second issue focused on the need to strengthen investment in next-generation EW technology in response to the changing threat environment. The U.S. can no longer rely on legacy spectrum dependent systems (SDS) to counter emerging threats. Rapid technology advancements, especially in the commercial sector, is reducing the threat evolution cycle. Gone are the days where the U.S. can wait 5-10 years to develop a countermeasure to a known threat. We must not only close the technology development window against known threats, but have an investment strategy that focuses on where threat technology is heading and what solutions we need to have in place by a particular time. As threats evolve, one conclusion is clear: The importance of EW will continue to grow rapidly and exponentially.
Finally, roundtable participants discussed the need to be globally competitive as a way to respond to the rise in global demand for EW technology, despite the shrinking defense budgets here at home. The bottom line is, similar to our acquisition process, our export control policies have not kept pace with advances in technology; U.S. EW systems face some of the strictest export controls within DoD. While the reasoning is sound, the application of such controls needs reform. Due to rapid advancements in technology, much of the technology in today’s EW systems can be exported without fear of tampering, but the outdated export controls impede U.S. defense companies from competing globally. One recommendation shared by participants is expediting export approvals of EW technology to Tier 1 and Tier 2 allies of the U.S. If the U.S. can better compete in the global EW market, we will improve capability coordination with our allies and be in a better position to counter evolving threat technology.
To strengthen EW investment over the next decade, meet the technological demands of our growing reliance on the EMS, and maintain our advantage in the global EW market, we must have an acquisition process and investment strategy that continues to invest in materiel, but bolsters the rest of EW DOTMLPF-P (Doctrine, Organization, Training, Materiel, Logistics, Personnel, Facilities and Policy), thereby generating a steady demand for EW materiel and equipping forces before a conflict begins instead of waiting for a conflict to start and then rushing EW solutions into the field. In the coming months, the AOC will explore these issues and more in greater detail with the EWWG with the hope of developing necessary and sensible policy recommendations for Congress to implement through its budget, reform and oversight responsibilities.
