Conner Bender
From Ukraine to the South China Sea, the electromagnetic spectrum is no longer an ancillary support function. Russian forces in Ukraine deploy systems like Zhitel, Krasukha and Leer-3 to jam communications, spoof GPS, and locate command posts in near real time. These capabilities enable rapid precision fires and drone strikes within minutes. Meanwhile, the Chinese military has advanced electromagnetic capabilities that can detect, target, and disrupt U.S. and allied forces. Spectrum dominance is a shared priority among peer adversaries. Increasingly, these actors exploit the “gray zone” between peace and war, using electromagnetic effects to destabilize and disorient without provoking a full-scale response. Success hinges on integration across echelons and branches, where these systems are employed to shape the fight—not just in major combat but across the competition continuum.
U.S. or allied commanders preparing to fight in denied, degraded, and disrupted space operational environments (D3SOEs) should be alarmed by these prospects. As electronic sensors, autonomous systems, and digitally connected platforms proliferate across the battlefield, the spectrum is becoming congested, contested, and constrained. Overreliance on tactical radios and unencrypted GPS and other positioning, navigation, and timing satellite constellations introduces new vulnerabilities. The question is not whether electromagnetic warfare (EW) matters in the irregular fight, but whether U.S. ground forces are structured to employ it with precision, agility, and survivability. To succeed across the competition spectrum, the U.S. military must revitalize and modernize its tactical architecture for the electromagnetic spectrum.
To meet the challenges of modern irregular warfare, the U.S. Army must revitalize its electronic warfare capabilities through a modernized ‘CEWI 2.0’ concept: one that enables decentralized, forward-deployed EW teams to operate effectively across the competition continuum and in denied, degraded, and disrupted environments.
What Happened to Ground Combat EW?
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