Electromagnetic security

Joint force must close gaps in electromagnetic spectrum

With an intense focus on technologically inferior adversaries in non-permissive environments for the last 15 years, the U.S. is coming to grips with the nature of advanced warfare and the capabilities of near-peer competitors. One of these capabilities, which some have described as on par or even superior to that of the U.S., is electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) and electronic warfare (EW). 

EMSO will play an outsized role in future concepts the military is devising, which, in some cases, simply assumes the superiority the U.S. has enjoyed in most domains for nearly the last two decades. Writings on the combat cloud or anything related to the so-called third offset strategy relies on a baseline assumption on the United States' ability to dominate in the spectrum, Brig. Gen. Edward Sauley, deputy director of operations for joint electromagnetic spectrum operations and the mobilization assistant to the director of operations for Strategic Command, said at the Association of Old Crows' annual conference in Washington on Tuesday.