Electronic warfare

Electronic Warfare: Better, But Still Not Good Enough

Pentagon policymakers — prodded by Congress — are taking electronic warfare seriously again. But reforms at the top will take years to trickle down to tangible improvements for the troops.

“I see a lot of good work being done in OSD, Joint Staff, and the services, but I would say it’s early,” Rep. Don Bacon told me and another reporter on the sidelines of the annual Association of Old Crows electronic warfare conference. “I think we turned the corner, but we’re still on first base…. We’ve got a long ways to go.

While the Navy and Marines retained their jammers, the Army and Air Force largely disbanded their EW forces after the Cold War. A retired Air Force one-star and electronic warrior himself, Bacon recalled that “I was angry when l was active duty because I thought we walked away from the best EW doctrine and capabilities in the early 90s. When I retired, we were second or third best.”