AOC 2011: EMS strategy critical to DoD operations

14 November 2011 - by Andrew White in Washington, DC

The US Department of Defense (DoD) requires an Electromagnetic Spectrum (EMS) strategy in order to best take advantage of EW operations, a senior official stated on 14 November.

Addressing the AOC conference on 14 November, USAF Maj Gen Jay Santee, principal director at the office of the deputy assistant for secretary of defense, described current DoD efforts to implement such a strategy.

Santee warned that although moves to improve waveform technologies, for example, were impressive, the development of such a strategy was not just technologically driven.

'The DoD needs an ESM strategy to lay out what the ends are and what the [operating] ways should be. There is a place for all of us to implement those means to better and more efficiently use that [EMS] spectrum,' Santee said.

Describing the EMS as a 'finite' resource, Santee also warned that EW capabilities must not be limited to battlefields in distant lands but also to homeland operations.

Meanwhile, when asked to define the contemporary EMS 'warrior', Santee outlined the importance of the Electronic Order of Battle, adding that a lot of aircrews owed their lives to such intelligence professionals.

'If you can't count on the voracity of the information coming in and know that nobody else is listening in, you're going to have a very difficult time on the battlefield,' Santee continued.