The Air Force is “very close” to having the ability to rapidly update electronic warfare systems with fresh battlefield data in a matter of hours, one among the service’s commanders said Wednesday.
Col. Josh Koslov, commander of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, has set an ambitious goal of updating EW systems inside three hours, as a substitute of days.
In a webcast hosted by C4ISRNET, Koslov said that three-hour goal — which he once known as a “moonshot” — is now nearby.
“We’re very near that, if not exceeding, in many of the systems that we cover within the spectrum warfare wing,” Koslov said. He went on to say that greater than half of the 70 EW systems his organization touches across the Air Force are either at or below the three-hour mark for updating.
But a lot of those systems have unique elements, he said, and the Air Force’s EW systems must make more use of interoperability and open architecture standards to simplify the method for rapid data updates.
And Koslov said his wing will need enough resources to develop these data production methods that may allow the military to process this data on a big enough scale to work in war, after which transport the info back to the sphere.
Koslov and Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, the Army’s program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, said within the webcast that in a future war against a complicated adversary, conditions on the battlefield, threats and targets will likely change so quickly that rapid updates to EW systems might be critical.
‘Data is the weapon’
“We have now to find a way to proceed so as to add pressure to the adversary in a war in an effort to seize the advantage and achieve our objectives,” Koslov said. “Data is the weapon that may allow this to occur, and data processing is the solution to try this.”
This may include combining data from all sources within the joint force, akin to Army units on land, naval ships within the Pacific, or airborne platforms, he said, after which combing through that information to search out latest threats. The military must then use that data to develop a solution to counter that latest threat, after which get that latest capability back to the sphere.
To attain these form of rapid data updates, Koslov said, the Air Force has revamped its tactics, techniques and procedures to have more of a “warfighting” focus.
When asked whether data updates may very well be made to systems remotely, or whether or not they would require something to be physically plugged in, Koslov said that may rely upon the EW system. He said information could be transported to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, where the 350th is positioned, or other reprogramming centers where more people can process the info.
That might be especially useful during a significant conflict against a nation akin to China or North Korea, he said, through which joint forces could be opened up across the Pacific region.
“If you come out with a brand new capability, it’s not good if you happen to just get it into one pocket,” Koslov said. “You may have to find a way to get it across the force. And so centralizing that’s going to be the precise solution to try this as we move forward.”
The Air Force activated the 350th in 2021, and has since been build up its capabilities by adding more units. Earlier this yr, the wing stood up two latest electronic warfare squadrons — the 388th at Eglin and the 563rd at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas.
The 563rd is targeted on constructing latest EW software for operational units to reply to the threats they encounter in the sphere. And the 388th is targeted on studying adversaries akin to China to search out ways to breach and thwart their digital capabilities.
Koslov said his wing is next focused on constructing out the 950th Spectrum Warfare Group at Robins, which is anticipated to be fully activated in 2027. The 950th might be in command of assessing the EW systems in Air Force’s combat aircraft and improving EW capabilities.
“The whole lot must be assessed from a platform perspective — does the platform do what we’ve asked it to do?” Koslov said. “But additionally our [tactics, techniques and procedures] need to be assessed. … How good are we at fighting and training within the [EW] spectrum?”
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.