{
  "id": "RL30639",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30639",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 101969,
      "date": "2001-12-03",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:18:56.661941",
      "title": "Electronic Warfare: EA-6B Aircraft Modernization and Related Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "Congress and the Department of Defense (DoD) face difficult and potentially costly choices\nwhen\nconsidering updating a key facet of the U.S. electronic warfare (EW) force structure. Presently, the\nNavy's EA-6B Prowler is the only airborne radar jamming system available to protect Navy, Marine\nCorps, and Air Force aircraft. The Prowler, though still capable, is aging and in short supply. Its\nretirement is scheduled for 2015. \n  There has been debate on how much EW is required to protect an aircraft force that increasingly\nincorporates stealth technology. However, recent operational experience suggests that future U.S.\nmilitary aviation superiority will be best achieved by a combination of EW and stealth techniques.\nIndeed, the recent conflict in Kosovo reportedly indicates that the United States needs to augment\nthe EA-6B force immediately to maintain its capability until a long-term replacement is found.\n  In the past, Congress has been a strong supporter of the EA-6B specifically, and EW in general.\nCongress has consistently increased the administration's request for EA-6B-related procurement\nfunding over the last five years. The 106th Congress has exhibited continued support for EW by\nforming a Congressional Working Group and initiating a Joint Service Electronic Attack Analysis\nof Alternatives Study. In December 2001, this study is due to release its roadmap for replacing the\nEA-6B fleet specifically, and rejuvenating DoD's electronic attack capabilities in general.\n  Today and in the near future, Congress will face a variety of decisions about the size and\ncomposition of DoD's EW force structure. In the near-term, Congress faces decisions on how to\nmaintain and modernize DoD's current active and passive EW force structure. The options Congress\nmay consider to augment the present EW force include speeding up the planned EA-6B upgrade\nprogram, promoting the development and deployment of smart radar decoys, resurrecting some\nnumber of retired EF-111 radar jamming aircraft, and retroactively putting EW capabilities on\naircraft other than the EA-6B. Congress will also be faced with overseeing DoD's choice of a\npermanent replacement for the EA-6B. The options include converting the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet,\nthe F-15E Strike Eagle, the Joint Strike Fighter, the F-16CJ Fighting Falcon and the F-22 Raptor,\nusing UAVs, or designing a new EW aircraft. There are a variety of criteria which can be used to\nmeasure the pros and cons of each aircraft. These criteria include the platform's unit cost, operations\nand maintenance considerations, whether or not the platform is \"joint\", and a variety of operational\ncharacteristics that will effect the platform's ability to escort aircraft strike packages in future threat\nenvironments.\n  Finally, Congress is faced with identifying the potentially high pay-off R&D pathways to\n future\nEW capabilities in the post 2020 timeframe. Considering the time that many DoD programs require\nto move from the drawing board to the field, it has been suggested that new EW technologies be\ninvestigated as soon as FY2001. Two potential future EW platforms that Congress may wish to\ninvestigate include networked, micro-UAVs (un-piloted air vehicles) and satellites.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": false,
      "formats": [
        {
          "format": "PDF",
          "encoding": null,
          "url": "http://www.crs.gov/Reports/pdf/RL30639",
          "sha1": "1642407fe01bfae3fbc14cca40ffaf7d74a90d6c",
          "filename": "files/20011203_RL30639_1642407fe01bfae3fbc14cca40ffaf7d74a90d6c.pdf",
          "images": null
        },
        {
          "format": "HTML",
          "filename": "files/20011203_RL30639_1642407fe01bfae3fbc14cca40ffaf7d74a90d6c.html"
        }
      ],
      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs",
    "National Defense"
  ]
}