USAF Penetrating Electronic Attack

GeorgeA

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Hawk Carlisle on PEA and PCA in AF Magazine daily report:

Twenty years after the Air Force gave up its EF-111 stand-in jamming platform, it is again looking to create an escort electronic warfare aircraft capability, inheriting the mission from the Navy.

Air Combat Command chief Gen. Hawk Carlisle, in a recent interview with Air Force Magazine, said the service is aiming to field a Penetrating Electronic Attack platform in the 2030-2035 timeframe.

“We believe we need not only Penetrating Counter-Air, we also believe we need Penetrating Electronic Attack,” he said of aircraft capable of getting past high-end air defense systems. The platform could be a variant of the PCA aircraft, or “we have something that can go a little faster in that realm,” or it could be an unmanned platform. “So there’s a lot we’re thinking about” with the PEA, he said.

“The Navy is kind of leaning toward a standoff capability” in electronic warfare, “because of the way the fleet operates,” Carlisle noted. “We, in the Air Force, responsible for theater-level airpower, believe we need penetrating as well and so, my guess is, there will be…a synergy there where the Navy concentrates on a standoff capability, we concentrate on a stand-in capability. And then we marry those two together to make the greatest electronic attack capability we can.”

The Navy has included the Air Force in its EA-6B Prowler and later EA-18 Growler missions since the EF-111 “Spark ‘Vark” was retired, allowing electronic warfare exchange officers to fly on those aircraft in the jamming/escort role.

Carlisle said that after a now-underway service-wide Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team review of multi-domain command and control, it will do one on electronic warfare and flesh out EA plans. The services are also working a joint look at theater electronic attack and electronic warfare launched by Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work last year.

NB: I interpreted his comment

we have something that can go a little faster in that realm

As meaning something that could programmatically emerge earlier, rather than a faster aircraft, based on the context of the article (persistence).
 
I also read it as something that can go faster through the acquisition cycle. The P-AEA mission has been in their horizon for a while now.
 
bring_it_on said:
I also read it as something that can go faster through the acquisition cycle. The P-AEA mission has been in their horizon for a while now.

SCO is sponsoring MALD-X for example.
 
MALD would work to an extent, but what about something a little larger, like the UTAP-22?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcP66syzQls
 
Another task for NGAD's family of drones to handle as a hunter killer team with the manned NGAD aircraft acting as mission director?
 
Another task for NGAD's family of drones to handle as a hunter killer team with the manned NGAD aircraft acting as mission director?
I certainly expect so.

I see 3 main drone missions for the CCA/Loyal Wingman/whatever it's called this year:
  1. Extra AAMs. This will likely be the first version flying, and likely the physically smallest of the 3 drones. Payload of 4x BVRAAMs + 2x-4x WVRAAMs, 2000-2500lbs.
  2. Sensors/Electronic Attack. Packing roughly the same equipment as an EA-18G, that's 7000lbs of electronics and 2000lbs ish of weapons, maybe some more weapons. Could end up with the same airframe as the Bomb Truck, and just stuff the extra bay volume with fuel, or with MALDs or something exotic like a smart MALD with recon sensors (ie, SDB2 seeker head). Not sure whether the EA or Bomb Truck will be stealthier, there's good arguments for both to be designed for maximum broadband stealth.
  3. Bomb Truck. 15,000+lbs of boom, half that of a B-21. Going to be a very large airframe if it has the same range as NGAD. Possibly the stealthiest airframe of the 3.
 

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