Army Pursues New High-Tech Weapon for Gray Eagle Drone Warfare

By Kris Osborn

…technology able to effectively launch offensive drone EW attacks more precisely than current technology allows.

A recently released Request For Information (RFI) from the Army’s Program Executive Office Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors (PEO IEW&S) asks industry for information about “sufficiently mature” MFEW critical technology elements that “can utilize a modified COTS/GCOTS approach.”

Referring to its Gray Eagle medium altitude drone, the Army is looking to develop an advanced wing-pylon mounted EW weapons system, according to the RFI.

Since the beginning of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the emergence of the Improvised Explosive Device (IED) or roadside bomb as a major threat, the Army has fielded a host of technologies to thwart or jam the incoming signal from a Radio-Controlled IED (RCIED) that delay or prevent detonation and potential injury to soldiers.

The majority of existing EW systems used by the Army, such as the vehicle-mounted DUKE v3, soldier portable Thor III and GATOR V2 tower use standard RF jamming techniques; many of these, industry experts explain, are effective in thwarting detonation signals but often emit a larger, more-detectable signal themselves. A key emphasis when it comes to next-gen EW, is more targeted or pinpointed electromagnetic spectrum attacks to better obscure a point of origin from enemy detection.

The Army’s Rapid Equipping Force, which works on near-term requirements to fast-track available combat technologies to the theater, has an interim solution and COTS focus. At the same time, REF leaders say, they often find that existing Army development programs have near-term, deployable solutions which can be brought forward.

Overall, particularly in light of Russia’s use of EW in Ukraine and fast-evolving EW technologies around the world, the U.S. Army realizes it needs to think differently about EW to position itself for potential near-peer adversaries.