Presenting the Topic:
Marine EA-6B Electronic Countermeasures Officer, flight instructor at VT-86, Major Kenneth "Beldar" Hollinger.
About the Webinar:
The ability to transmit and receive information to and from nodes on the battlefield can be the key to winning or losing a fight. The EMS is the information pathway of choice in any kind of maneuver warfare. With the exponential increase of sensors on the battlefield, we are quickly running out of maneuver space within the EMS. It is not hard to imagine a scenario where a contest between two adversaries is won or lost solely from the ability to dominate the EMS. The side with EMS dominance will be able to see the battlefield and communicate-while the other side will be rendered blind and dumb.
In a contested EMS environment, what is the best strategy to guarantee use of the EMS while denying the enemy the same? Assuming an equal power budget, what strategy will give you the correct mix of sensing, transmitting, jamming, bit checking, and processing to maximize the delta between you and your enemy's ability to make use of the EMS?
As strategies and theories for EMS dominance are developed it will be necessary to establish a proving ground in which to test them.
What is the "EW Octagon"?:
A concept to create an environment to facilitate the maturation of 'Cognitive EW' -or the ability to autonomously sense and react to what the enemy is doing and dominate the EMS.
The idea is to force two opposing Cognitive EW RF systems to operate within a contested RF band in order to test and develop Cognitive EW strategies. Furthermore, force the systems to operate with a restricted amount of power and enough RF bandwidth to maneuver, but not more bandwidth than each system could take full advantage of. In other words, the 'Octagon' is a set of contest rules, and a contest environment, crafted properly in order to facilitate 'a good fight'.
The 'EW Octagon' is a concept that could be a useful tool for developing strategies and technologies that will allow us to maintain EMS dominance in a future, contested EMS environment.
We look forward to your attendance and please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions.
