Restoring the U.S. Navy’s Electronic Warfare Prowess: The Gospel Spreads

Last month I wrote about LCDR Jack Curtis’s excellent article at the Bridge regarding the Navy’s need to resurrect its late Cold War-era skills for fighting in opposed electromagnetic environments. I also noted Deputy Secretary of Defense Bob Work’s commentaries along the same lines. 

It isn’t often that electronic warfare topics like these get public attention. That’s extremely unfortunate given the centrality of electronic warfare to maritime combat. Granted, classification can be a barrier with respect to specifics. But the general principles are—and have always been—unclassified. I’m often amazed by how often electronic warfare considerations are overlooked in commentaries on modern warfare; such oversights detract from informed debate.

That’s why I truly appreciate the publication of good articles on electronic warfare in widely-read defense journals. This month’s Proceedings contains two pieces that meet this standard. Unfortunately, both lie behind the Naval Institute’s paywall. If you subscribe or have access to the magazine hardcopy, they are must-reads.

The first is an analysis by CAPT Patrick Molenda regarding the importance of mission command to operations under electromagnetic opposition. Mission command is sometimes referred to as either “mission-type orders” or ‘action in accordance with higher echelon commander’s intent;’ command by negation doctrine is closely related. Regardless of what you choose to call it, though, this approach to C² is incontrovertibly critical to operating in areas where radiofrequency communications are—unless concealed using highly-directional line-of-sight pathways or advanced low probability of intercept waveforms—readily exploitable by an electronic warfare-savvy adversary. Inside a combat zone, a unit’s casual decision to transmit on a radio or employ a radar without using those kinds of protections could easily end up being suicidal.

Molenda discusses the potential misalignment of the Navy’s operational-level staffs with the actual levels of war, and the implications this has for the service’s C² architectures. He also correctly observes that these (and higher-tier) staffs’ network-age addiction to real and near-real time tactical information drawn from the unit-level would be extraordinarily difficult to sustain in an opposed electromagnetic environment, would be rife with exploitable vulnerabilities, and  is corrosive to cultivating tactical initiative and agility:

“Not only does this practice neuter trust between commanders and subordinates, it stifles decentralized execution by paralyzing initiative. The relentless demand for detailed information from senior staffs is not simply a distraction; it changes the very fabric of C2. Granted, there is a valid need for commanders at all levels to share a common operating picture so decisions can be made in response to enemy actions or changing conditions. However, if the intent of information extraction is not to adjust plans, reapportion forces, or to counter enemy moves, then what purpose does this really serve? It seems the answer all too often is the implied (or even specified, in many cases) requirement for all levels to know specifically what’s going on at any given moment to satisfy the next layer of command’s similar information requirements. This characterization makes for an interesting case study in organizational efficiency, but in future conflicts, could very well prove disastrous. It’s quite possible that the Navy could face an adversary in the not-too-distant future that not only has the ability to disrupt critical communications, but can also deploy non-kinetic fires to its advantage. The first time commanders find themselves in a communications vacuum as a result of such actions is not the time to be figuring out the processes needed to stay plugged into the fight.” (Pg. 37)

This potentially dire outcome serves as his lead-in argument for mission command:

“Without a C2 framework designed to align with the appropriate levels of war, it’s extremely difficult to execute the effective and nimble battle rhythm required to harmonize disparate tactical actions to achieve operational-level objectives. This is especially true in the case of an adversary with the ability to inhibit electromagnetic freedom of action. It will take innovation, education, training, practice, discipline, and most of all trust in subordinate commanders to get this right.

While many would equate innovation with the implementation of game-changing technology, an equally powerful component of innovation are concepts that incorporate new tactics, techniques, and procedures that enable game-changing effects. While mission command is not a radical concept in theory, instilling the culture to execute it in today’s Navy is.”(Pg. 37)

I couldn’t agree more.

Further, he is absolutely correct that the top-down embrace of mission command within the Navy is essential to being able to fully capitalize on emerging electronic warfare capabilities. Groups of friendly units (not all of whom will be Navy) will need to be able cooperatively execute complex tactical tasks despite highly restrictive emissions control if they are to avoid being attacked effectively by a competent adversary from over-the-horizon. Any friendly use of deception will require extraordinarily disciplined emissions control as well. Mission command is what will allow units to self-organize and coordinate their actions under such circumstances. Trust between echelons of command, not to mention amongst peers in a task force or group, can in fact be a very powerful weapon. As the CAPT notes in his closing observation:

“To dominate the information realm, the Navy must truly embrace mission command enabled by trusted commanders at all levels through proper C2 alignment. This, along with judicious use of the electronic spectrum and sound tactical doctrine, employment, and training, is ultimately what will unleash the true power of electromagnetic maneuver warfare.”(Pg. 39)

Later in the issue, Norman Friedman hammers these points home in his World Naval Developments column. Friedman, it should be remembered, is the preeminent expert on how the Navy employed electronic warfare throughout the Cold War to defang the Soviet Ocean Surveillance System. He therefore speaks with an authoritative voice when he seconds Molenda’s arguments:

“…we must learn to shut down our emissions. Our radars and radios buy us a great deal tactically, but they also tell our enemies where to find us. At the least, we ought to be able to rely far more on airborne sensors…

…by making ourselves less visible we may be able to deceive our enemies into wasting their efforts or exposing valuable platforms…

… The central lesson of the Cold War is that big antiship strikes are not inherently easy to mount. Whoever shoots has a limited number of weapons, and in many cases the shooters are giving away their positions and making themselves vulnerable. It is difficult enough to shoot at even moderate ranges because ocean surveillance is never easy. Shots wasted on non-targets merely alert the intended victim. The more ships that are involved on the other side, the better the chance that a deceiver can cause ships or shore batteries to fire at each other. We can make attacks against us extremely difficult if we fully understand what our enemies have to do to deal with us. We were once extremely good at that; we can be again.” (Pg. 162-163)

Amen.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: electronic warfare prowess is not a silver bullet for modern victories at sea. All the same, it’s hard to envision a path to such victories—let alone avoiding defeats—without it. The more this becomes recognized and internalized at all levels of the Navy, the better off the Navy will be.

 The views expressed herein are solely those of the author and are presented in his personal capacity. They do not reflect the official positions of Systems Planning and Analysis, and to the author’s knowledge do not reflect the policies or positions of the U.S. Department of Defense, any U.S. armed service, or any other U.S. Government agency.