Managing electronic warfare (EW) resources can be challenging for a single EW system, but even more so when multiple systems and branches of the military must be considered. Work by Raytheon Co. on its Cyber and Electromagnetic Battle Management (CEMBM) tool is meant to create a truly interoperable EW management tool across different software programs and hardware platforms (see photo). The tool was recently shown to be efficient and effective during a demonstration with the U.S. Marines’ Raptor-X EW asset management tool.
Because different branches of the military rely on different asset management tools, one challenge in coordinating tactical efforts lies in effectively sharing information across a joint battlespace. Raytheon has been involved in the development of the U.S. Army’s Electronic Warfare Program Management Tool (EWPMT) for several years, and the CEMBM software is a means of joining cyber and electromagnetic (EM) spectrum awareness data—such as from radar and sensor systems—into the EWPMT tool.
In this way, joint forces benefit from situational awareness across multiple EW management platforms, for instant response to a threat, whether triggered automatically by the software or by a human controller.
As an increasing number of threats incorporate RF/microwave technology for guidance and remote control, soldiers involved with EW platforms need greater knowledge of the EM spectrum and what constitute possibly threat-related signals. The ever-changing battlespace of recent years has included a variety of new threats, including improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), typically under remote RF/microwave signal control.
An EW asset management tool such as CEMBM combines the processing capability to analyze and respond to threats based on EM and other technologies as well as the interoperability to flow data between different platforms.
“We’ve achieved an interoperability breakthrough with CEMBM,” says Frank Pietryka, director of Airborne Information Operations at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems “This type of community access to EWPMT-managed data means we can reach across services and produce a shared operating picture.” During the recent demonstration, the open architecture of the CEMBM program allowed sensor data from the Raptor-X system to be used with EWPMT situational awareness and geospatial information.
The CEMBM software, which is already at Technology Readiness Level-7, will undergo further exercises, although it has already shown extensive capabilities and flexibility among different EW platforms.
