The Air Force is calling on defense contractors to offer new technologies that can launch attacks via the electromagnetic spectrum and protect against enemy signal jamming, according to a Jan. 13 solicitation.
“Traditional EW system acquisition approaches lead to stagnant and irrelevant capabilities,” the Air Force said. Hoping to move faster than the typical, years-long Pentagon procurement process, the service is looking for a “rapidly configurable EW system” with electronic attack and support capabilities that can take on existing and future threats.
“The USAF future strategy for EW … is for advanced, wideband EW systems incorporating a flexible architecture” so multiple platforms can work together on a range of missions, the solicitation said. That requires modular tools that can easily be updated and that don’t depend on a particular aircraft or computer system.
Responses are due by the end of February. Depending on what ideas the Air Force receives, the service could invite contractors to demonstrate their products.
“The demonstration will consist of six notion signals with three generic [unclassified] jamming techniques,” the Air Force said of a possible event in June. “The participants’ systems being demonstrated shall be able to correctly identify the threat and provide the correct jamming technique.”
The notice comes about one year after the service wrapped up its wide-ranging study of future electronic warfare.