A tetralogy of case studies conducted by RAND Corp. implied the need for the U.S. Air Force to upgrade its electronic warfare integrated reprogramming enterprise in order to respond more quickly to adversary threats in the electromagnetic spectrum.
The research report urged the service branch to update its software architecture to improve existing EWIR enterprise despite transitioning to cognitive electronic warfare, which uses artificial intelligence and machine learning.
RAND found that electronic warfare–related software reprogramming needs to process intelligence in a matter of seconds or minutes to ensure effective response to advanced threats.
The nonprofit policy group recommended containerized microservices to help accelerate reprogramming speed and newer software deployment architectures to support cognitive electronic warfare algorithms. Aircraft missions should also have better computing and connectivity for rapid data transmission and file updates in theater, RAND posited.
Aside from technology refinements and personnel development, USAF policies should be amended to improve data collection, access, classification, integration and standardization, the research team said.
