Dominate the spectrum: 350th SWW enables EW capabilities for Ukrainian F-16s

  • Published
  • By Capt. Benjamin Aronson
  • 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Florida --  The 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron recently collaborated with their Danish and Norwegian counterparts in support of the delivery of F-16s from Denmark and the Netherlands to Ukraine, as announced by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier last month at the NATO Public Forum.

The 68th EWS is an Air Force center of Electronic Warfare excellence, focused on increasing the lethality and survivability of the U.S. and its strategic partners by developing, testing and delivering full-spectrum Electromagnetic Warfare support.

Both Ukraine and Russia’s militaries heavily rely on unfettered access to the electromagnetic spectrum to achieve commander objectives and both sides have continuously engaged in EW through techniques such as jamming and spoofing throughout the war to achieve spectrum superiority.

With the third-party transfer of F-16s by Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands to Ukraine, another EW capability is joining the fight for Ukraine.

To effectively integrate the F-16 into the Ukrainian Air Force, its EW subsystems required reprogramming to be effective against evolving Russian threats in the spectrum. The 68th EWS took this challenge head-on given the urgent priority it represents to the U.S. and our partners.

The problem set the 68th EWS faced was two-fold: the system used on the soon-to-be delivered F-16s is one that the U.S. doesn’t possess in its inventory and the timeline needed to optimize these EW systems to meet the delivery date of the aircraft.

“Most reprogramming centers would have said ‘no way’ when approaching this challenge; it’s uncharted policy,” said the 68th EWS chief engineer. “We looked at each other and we said, ‘If not us, then who? We’re the best people to do this.’”

The 68th EWS assembled a dedicated team comprised of a mixture of seasoned experts and bright, young engineers to approach the reprograming challenge. Their first task was to understand the unfamiliar EW system and how to reprogram it.

Relying on data provided by Denmark and Norway, then adapting new processes and approaches to the usual process, the team was able to understand the system and start their work.

After understanding the system, the 68th EWS deviated again from normal methods and sent its members overseas to a partner-nation lab to collaboratively develop and test the system alongside coalition teammates.

“This is not our standard operating procedure,” said the 68th EWS director. “The fact that the team was able to figure out the system in two weeks, go in country with a partner to develop a best-ever mission data file is unheard of and is thanks to the talent here in the squadron and the wing.”

By working alongside partner nations, the 68th EWS was able to test and verify the unique elements required by the Ukrainians and even improve the reprogramming processes by all parties.

“Without combining efforts, this would not have been possible,” said the 68th EWS lead equipment specialist. “Working together as peers on a project is the only reason this happened.”

With Ukraine now being onboarded as an official foreign military sales case for the 68th EWS, the unit will provide reprogramming capabilities based on feedback from the Ukrainians. Traditionally, feedback from FMS cases is derived from training environments; this case will provide combat-tested data to improve capabilities.

The 68th EWS hopes to soon add Ukraine to its portfolio, bringing the number of partner nations it supports to 31, furthering the ability of the U.S. and its allies to fight in side-by-side in the spectrum.

“When you’re talking about a near-peer conflict, you need all of your coalition partners to operate with the same playbook so you can achieve spectrum dominance,” said the 68th EWS director. “One F-16 with a reprogrammed pod won’t achieve air dominance alone, but it may give you a pocket of air superiority for a moment’s time to achieve an objective that has strategic importance and impact.”