New Weapons, New Options: Electronic Attack in Multi-domain Operations

Modern militaries rely upon the electromagnetic spectrum to operate. Therefore, attacking electronics and information systems through jamming and directed energy degrades a modern adversary's warfighting system. After the Cold War, America's adversaries invested in electronic attack capability while the US Army largely divested its own. Aware of this, the Army is now investing in old and new electronic weapons to close the gap, regaining electronic attack capability as the Army experiments with the Multi-Domain Operations concept. The purpose of this monograph is to answer the question, "How may the US Army leverage electronic attack in the MDO space?" This monograph proposes that operational land forces should integrate emerging jamming and directed energy weapons into a warfighting system that converges physical, cybernetic, and moral effects upon the enemy in depth. This proposal has significant implications for doctrine, organization, and leader development. The author's intent is to encourage Army leaders to consider offensive actions in the EMS as essential to combined arms operations on the current and future battlefield.