Big offensive EW capabilities in a small package

If there’s one request of electronic warfare (EW), it’s that it can be disruptive from farther distances yet still compact for small airborne platforms, drones, and mass munitions at the aerial layer that are presently dominating ground conflicts around the world.

To bring greater offensive EW capability to the aerial layer, BAE Systems has introduced its small-form-factor software defined radio (SDR) family of products. Shadow EW brings greater offensive capability to modern and legacy aerial systems. Breaking Defense spoke with Dan Mooney, director of business development, and Rebecca Cruz, director, Shadow EW products, at BAE Systems, about how Shadow EW brings new benefits to smaller platforms.

Breaking Defense: Electronic warfare is changing rapidly. What is the threat scenario driving the need for smaller, more efficient SDRs?

Mooney: The No. 1 thing that we see, the demand from our customers, is increased range. The main things that are changing are longer range systems, smaller systems, and access into the increased areas of denial.

Dan Mooney, director of business development, BAE Systems

With that, the need for scalability in EW systems to enable area access for these small on-demand, or medium- or large-class platforms, that’s really the need that we see, is to increase the range of unmanned systems and entry into highly contested environments to our war fighters’ systems.

How is EW evolving?

Mooney: The key here is the timelines. What is required today is a shorter response time in terms of the rapidly evolving EW environment. Things that used to take either years or months to adapt to now require a timeline of days, or a matter of hours.

We’re able to leverage software as the key enabler so that we can meet the mission of the day. Making sure that the war fighter has these systems available to them when they need it – that is the goal of Shadow EW. It’s the ability to upgrade to things like software, firmware, not a hardware material type change. It’s a software change so that these systems are available when needed.

Rebecca Cruz, director, Shadow EW products, BAE Systems

Cruz: The Shadow EW systems are not designed to be bespoke products for any singular platform. They’re designed to support rapid payload insertion and meet a number of different needs across varying mission sets.

What are the specific EW capabilities that you’re looking at for platforms such as drones or mass munitions? How does that vary from a larger, more traditional platform?

Mooney: They don’t necessarily vary much. The Shadow EW system is developed and targeted to address affordable mass systems, but can also scale to things like higher-speed type systems or things like an exquisite-type platform in the unmanned realm. What we’re focused on here isn’t necessarily any reduction or addition of capabilities, it’s a reduction of SWaP (size, weight and power) and enabling those key features to be available to these lower-cost, unmanned or attritable systems.

Cruz: The modularity is critical here, too. With the system being modular as it is, you can purchase different boxes, including the SDR, to place on a platform instead of just one large exquisite system.

Mooney: The beauty of Shadow EW are the capabilities, or jobs, that used to take two, three or four boxes now is hosted within a singular system at a reasonable price point for the platform to lower the logistical implementation of multiple boxes, smaller SWaP and a lower price point of an all-in-one system.

What capabilities do these systems offer compared to legacy systems?

Mooney: The keys here are situational awareness, targeting, survivability, deception, and collaborative behavior. These are all things that as our customers look for network collaborative autonomy and behaviors, being able to leverage those across things like targeting, survivability and deception, we’re able to do that across these unmanned systems.

How quickly is Shadow EW able to adapt to new threats?

Mooney: I can’t get into all the details and specifics of that, but with Shadow EW, we’re able to partner with the warfighter to be able to meet their timelines given the mission. I can tell you with certainty that it’s not months or years. We are working on the timelines that the warfighter dictates to us, and as a partner with them to be able to meet the mission of the day and not be the squeaky wheel.

Cruz: That drives to our commercial stance. Part of the reasoning for driving to commerciality is we heard the Department of War talk about getting things fielded into the warfighter’s hands quicker. BAE Systems has and is continuing to internally invest to get apps built, to get hardware built, so that we have things readily available to field quicker to the warfighter.

As products get old, we are working through refresh cycles. We’re continuing to refresh that software, firmware and stay ahead of emerging threats so that when new threats emerge, we have more options to provide to our customers.

Your systems are software-defined; what about the hardware?

Mooney: Beyond just the software piece, it’s the agnostic nature of the hardware, as well. We’re not bespoke to any certain apertures and antennas, not bespoke against any singular interface or standard, it’s open standards. Software is the key, but as new platforms come online, we want that rapid insertion. The Shadow EW systems are not bespoke to the other parts of the RF radio frequency package.

Cruz: As a part of that product refresh cycle, we are closely tuned in and tied in with our business development teams and such that we’re consistently monitoring the needs, the warfighters’ needs, the market, and working to stay ahead of any changes that need to be made to that architecture. As we refresh the products, we’re being informed by the communications that our business development teams are bringing back to us.

What should be the takeaways about Shadow?

Cruz: The environment is changing, as Dan said, sometimes even by the minute. Shadow EW represents a critical shift in how we think and how BAE Systems develops and delivers our products, specifically the cost-effective electronic warfare that is highly manufacturable, in order to scale and get these to our warfighter in a rapid manner.

The product delivers a big punch in a small box, and they are meant to address that low-cost need that our warfighters have been looking for and asking for to protect our nation and protect themselves in their day-to-day operations.

Mooney: Shadow enables access to the best of breed for what BAE Systems does. With our history and our pedigree with electronic warfare, it’s commonplace to think of delivering these large systems that are quite expensive. Whereas here, as Rebecca said, highly manufacturable, high volume, and able to be lower cost to meet budgets of respective programs.

It also enables access for customers with Shadow EW to proven capabilities from BAE Systems’ EW prowess. Capabilities that have been proven in simulation environments, in operational theater, Shadow EW leverages down into a smaller box at a lower SWaP available when needed. Don’t think tens or hundreds of systems, think multiple thousands.