Spectrum dominance and counter-UAS at SOF Week
NewsMay 07, 2024
SOF WEEK 2024--TAMPA, Fla. Dominance in the spectrum domain is goal of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and especially of USSOCOM [United States Special Operations Command]. In an interview I did with Pete Gallagher, Maj. Gen., U.S. Army (Ret.) and Senior Vice President for Technology and Solutions, CACI International Inc. at SOF Week 2024 in Tampa, he and I discussed the capabilities CACI delivers to USSOCOM for dominating the electromagnetic spectrum. Pete also covered the counter-UAS [uncrewed aerial system] solutions his team is showcasing at SOF Week. Edited excerpts follow.
SOF Week Show Daily: What is your role within CACI and your background within the defense community?
Gallagher: I am Senior Vice President for Technology and Solutions of the National Security and Innovative Solutions sector for CACI International Inc., which is a sector focused heavily on the mission technology side. I also spent more than 30 years in the U.S. Army, retiring as a Major General. During my career I commanded troops at the Platoon, Company, Troop, Battalion, Squadron, and Brigade, and at the Army Direct Reporting Unit levels. My assignments included United States Special Operations Command units, including Commander of the Joint Communications Unit, Battalion Commander for the 112th Signal Battalion, Squadron Commander of a Special Mission Unit. I also served as the Brigade Commander for Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) Central Field Command.
SOF Week Show Daily: Why is the Special Operations community important to CACI?
Gallagher: We provide high-end expertise and technology to the entire U.S. government, including the Department of Defense (DoD). DoD is a primary customer, and helping them fight and win against any adversary anywhere on the planet is a priority. For the last two decades we've been supporting USSOCOM and special mission units and special operations forces globally.
Ever since we've been supporting SOF [Special Operations Forces], we have been heavily involved in acquiring capabilities – very bespoke, very unique capabilities – that support the special operations forces deployed. That's everything from high-end intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance [ISR] capability to electronic warfare (EW) and electronic effects capability. We have a very special relationship with Gen. Fenton and with the leaders across the SOF community.
SOF Week Show Daily: What are you showcasing at SOF Week 2024?
Gallagher: There is a variety of things that we bring to bear, starting with our spectrum solutions such as the Spectrum Guard System that allows us to analyze and see the electromagnetic spectrum. Our Magpie RF signature decoy systems enables [end users to leverage] decoys in the electromagnetic spectrum. It’s really a low-cost emitter that plays back raw signal capabilities and allows you to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum by confusing the adversaries.
We are also demonstrating our gimbal technology, which provides low size, weight, and power (SWaP) capabilities on a variety of platforms –where you can provide ELINT [electronic intelligence] capability and the ability to analyze signals through imaging. We're demonstrating tactical EW capabilities as well.
For the Army’s Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack (TLS-BCT) program we are leveraging a couple of products – Kraken and Beast – from a company we acquired called Mastodon. These are combat-proven SIGINT receivers with wideband scan that enables direction-finding over multiple channels simultaneously.
SOF Week Show Daily: What is CACI doing for the counter-UAS applications?
Gallagher: For counter-UAS we are showcasing the BEAM, a man-packable counter-UAS system [that has] the longest detection and mitigation range available. It delivers detect, track, identify, and defeat capability. We recently had a contract awarded for the BEAM with the Canadian Armed Forces.
Our CORIAN solution has fixed and mobile options for countering the drone threat. We also have payloads that go on unmanned systems such as our Spectral Sieve, a real-time passive, single- and multi-platform RF detection and direction-finding capability. It enables us to geolocate tactical uncrewed systems and also provides automated detection, processing, and modulation classification.
We team that up with another effort called Pit Viper, which allows us to not only do passive sensing of the environment, but also generate electronic effects. These are low-SWaP solution sets that can go on a variety of uncrewed weapons systems.
