Naval Air Warfare Center engineers perform EW experiments during Talisman Saber 2015 exercise
NewsOctober 01, 2015
POINT MUGU, Calif. – During Talisman Sabre 2015 multinational exercise conducted in the Pacific as part of the Trident Warrior 2015 initiative, the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) performed two Electronic Warfare Battle Management (EWBM) experiments.
Data analysts Steve Fisher, Bob Markham, and senior electronic warfare (EW) analyst Les Fierst comprised the team that conducted the first experiment, which used a Link 16-enabled EWBM. Fisher was aboard Commander Task Force (CTF) 70, Markham was aboard USS George Washington (CVN 73), while Fierst provided event coordination between the CTF-70 staff, Carrier Air Wing 5 aircrew, the Naval Warfare Development Command (NWDC), and the embarked engineers onboard the navy vessels.
The goal of the experiment included gathering data on Link 16 EW tracks received by ships from a carrier-based aircraft, recording ship combat systems processing of the received tracks, and identifying how they are currently being used by the shipboard EW watchstanders.
While more data analysis is required, the team made a number of observations that will improve EW interoperability and allow combat systems to integrate aircraft EW data and increase EWBM capability with Link 16, says Markham.
The second experiment included system engineers Stephen McIver and Roger Ellis, NAWCWD’s EWBW lead Mike Herrara, and training lead John Johnson. The team conducted their experiment onboard the USS Bohhomme Richard (LHD 6) and began testing evolutions in early July, conducting dry runs and fully integrated tests that included AV-8B Harriers in flight.
According to Navy officials, this was the first control of an airborne EW pod on an AV-8B controlled via IP data link aboard a ship by Navy personnel. During the experiment, the team was able to integrate Navy and Marine Corps EW systems and demostrate how systems control protocols would operate. They were also able to record data on questions such as, what are the planning impacts? And How does using integrated MAGTF EWBM (SLQ-32, ALQ-231) impact Navy operations?
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