The Army is gearing up to finalize requirements for the Multi-Function Electronic Warfare Ground program in November.
While there is a roadmap for the program, Col. Mark Dotson, Training and Doctrine Command Capabilities Manager for electronic warfare at the Cyber Center of Excellence and Fort Gordon, Georgia, said the Army has not built the requirements yet. However, he said they are looking at what the corps commander needs and what the division commander needs in terms of EW or integrated EW intelligence sensing and attack capability.
“The Army needs an electronic warfare capability…we’ve lost some of the institutional capabilities when it comes to delivering electronic attack,” Mark Kitz, Director of System of Systems Engineering Program Executive Office for Intelligence, EW and Sensors, said at TechNet Augusta August 9.
Dotson told C4ISRNET following his presentation at the same conference that the Army is looking at a November time frame to go through and complete the Army Requirements Oversight Council for MFEW Ground.
The Army has released requests for information for a few components of MFEW Air in the past.
MFEW Ground, which encompasses large, small, dismounted and extended range systems that will all will be integrated at various echelons, will all provide electronic attack and electronic warfare support capabilities organic in the brigade combat team.
Dotson said the first portion of MFEW Ground will be the MFEW Ground large system. According to a slide during Dotson’s presentation, it will be assigned to the maneuver brigade combat team, hosted in a dedicated large vehicle and fielded in fiscal 2025.
Dotson told C4ISRNET MFEW Ground small will follow the large system. This will be assigned to maneuver companies and platoons, hosted by an organic small vehicle and fielded in fiscal 2027.
The Army has already started working the process for small.
In terms of the other components of MFEW Ground, the dismount will be assigned to maneuver company and platoon with the individual soldier serving as the host and fielding scheduled for fiscal 2027. The extended range will be assigned to maneuver brigade combat teams with a host platform being group III unmanned aerial systems with fielding in fiscal 2031.
Mark Pomerleau is a reporter for C4ISRNET, covering information warfare and cyberspace.
