US Air Force activates units dedicated to electronic warfare

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force has activated two detachments at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia dedicated to electronic warfare and its future applications.

The green light, given Oct. 25 at a ceremony inside an aviation museum, marks a step toward the realization of the 950th Spectrum Warfare Group , tasked with assessing the effectiveness of electronic warfare across dozens of aircraft while improving jamming and spoofing capabilities in large military exercises.

The nascent group is an outgrowth of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. That wing is staffed by engineers and other specialists that tinker with software and code to counter electronic threats in the field.

“Our enemies right now are looking at developing countermeasures as they shore up their capabilities against us,” Col. Josh Koslov, the wing’s commander, said at the ceremony . “Our team here at Robins will identify what our weak points are, and be able to point us in the direction we need to go.”

The Air Force, like the Army and the Navy, is reinvesting in electronic warfare and the related domination of the electromagnetic spectrum after years of atrophy. Modern militaries rely on the spectrum to communicate, navigate and guide weapons to their targets; the fight over it can make or break wartime success.

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Cody Bunderson installs an AFT Transmit Coupler AN/ALQ-184 ECM Pod on an F-16 Fighting Falcon at Misawa Air Base, Japan, in August 2023. (Staff Sgt. Ericka A. Woolever/U.S. Air Force)

Both Russia and China recognize the value of the spectrum and are trying to beef up their associated arsenals. The latter may struggle in fights where spectrum access is fiercely contested, according to a Pentagon assessment released earlier this month.

“I want to emphasize the words of the commander of Air Combat Command, Gen. Mark Kelly, who said if we don’t achieve superiority in the spectrum, then our forces are going to lose, and we’re going to lose fast,” Koslov said.

The 950th Spectrum Warfare Group is expected to be fully established by 2027. But Koslov has nearer-term goals.

The detachments activated at Robins Air Force Base, where a significant avionics footprint already exists, are feeding the effort.

“Standing up these units today gives me the organizational capability to put mission on the table for warfighters,” Koslov said . “We’re depressurizing the administrivia of standing up an organization and allowing them to focus on mission earlier.”

Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.

华盛顿——美国空军已在佐治亚州罗宾斯空军基地启动了两个专门从事电子战及其未来应用的特遣队。

10 月 25 日，在航空博物馆内举行的仪式上，该项目获得批准，标志着第 950 频谱战大队朝着实现目标迈出了一步。该大队的任务是评估数十架飞机的电子战有效性，同时提高大型军事演习中的干扰和欺骗能力。

这个新成立的小组源于佛罗里达州埃格林空军基地的第350频谱战联队。该联队由工程师和其他专家组成，他们致力于软件和代码的改进，以应对战场上的电子威胁。

“我们的敌人现在正着手研发应对措施，以增强他们对抗我们的能力，”联队指挥官乔什·科斯洛夫上校在仪式上说。“我们罗宾斯空军基地的团队将找出我们的弱点，并为我们指明前进的方向。”

与陆军和海军一样，空军在经历了多年的衰落之后，正在重新加大对电子战及其相关电磁频谱控制的投入。现代军队依靠频谱进行通信、导航和引导武器攻击目标；对频谱的争夺往往决定着战争的成败。

2023年8月，美国空军技术军士科迪·邦德森在日本三泽空军基地为一架F-16“战隼”战斗机安装AN/ALQ-184电子对抗吊舱。（美国空军参谋军士埃里卡·A·伍勒弗摄）

俄罗斯和中国都认识到频谱的价值，并正努力加强相关的武器库。五角大楼本月早些时候发布的一份评估报告指出，在频谱争夺激烈的冲突中，中国可能会面临困境。

科兹洛夫说：“我想强调空战司令部司令马克·凯利将军的话，他说，如果我们不能在频谱上取得优势，那么我们的部队将会失败，而且会很快失败。”

第950频谱作战大队预计将于2027年全面组建完成。但科兹洛夫还有更近期的目标。

在罗宾斯空军基地激活的各分遣队（该基地已经拥有大量的航空电子设备）正在为这项工作提供支持。

科兹洛夫说：“今天组建这些单位，让我具备了向作战人员提出任务的组织能力。我们正在减轻组建组织过程中繁琐的行政工作压力，使他们能够更早地专注于任务。”

科林·德马雷斯特曾是C4ISRNET的记者，负责报道军事网络、网络安全和信息技术方面的新闻。此前，他曾为南卡罗来纳州的一家日报报道美国能源部及其下属的国家核安全管理局，主要关注冷战后的清理工作和核武器研发。科林还是一位屡获殊荣的摄影师。