CRANE, Ind.: Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) recently recognized Naval Electronic Warfare Technology Integration Center (NEWTIC) as part of its Electronic Warfare (EW) Integration Improvement Program (EWIIP) support structure.
The U.S. Fleet Forces Command (USFFC) message establishing the EW Fleet Collaborative Team (EW FCT), a special group created by the Navy operational community to work specifically on EW, recognized this support.
Initiated in April 2008, NEWTIC promotes collaboration between the diverse groups in the U.S. naval EW community and develops technologies that span across each EW domain and mission area. With its headquarters at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), NEWTIC will combine expert talents from all organizations across Navy’s robust EW community. Their talents and assets will be used to better identify gaps in EW technology as well as solutions to fill them.
Currently, experts within the naval EW community are separated by complex organizations, a division that makes teamwork among professionals working in different domains, missions and establishments difficult. In order to combine the knowledge in this unique asset, NEWTIC is enabling these pockets of professionals to more effectively share innovative solutions and leverage investments.
One way in which NEWTIC seeks to bridge the compartmentalized structure of EW is by conducting a comprehensive look at current capabilities across all domains and missions. NEWTIC will create an EW portal, available on SIPRNET, making the information and intelligence generated by the assessment process more widely available to the naval EW community. These real-time, continuous capabilities assessments will provide important information to decision makers to create more effective investment strategies.
“The baselines identified in the assessment process will provide a real-time continuous EW capability baseline and a clearer picture of where the Navy needs to invest their EW dollars,” said Erika White, director of NEWTIC.
At the forefront of NEWTIC’s mission is its goal to improve the process of getting research already completed by the nation’s top scientists translated into fielded technology. Enhancing this procedure will more quickly and effectively get needed technology to the warfighter.
“We’ve got to get advanced technology out of the labs and into the warfighter’s hands, as well as engage top scientists in thinking about how to apply their expertise to make existing and new EW capabilities more affordable and sustainable,” White said.
As the significance of EW increases in the modern conflicts our nation faces, banding together the Navy’s EW expertise has never been more imperative. EW technology is used daily to both target threat assets and protect the warfighter from enemy attacks ranging from improvised explosive devices to shoulder-launched missiles.
“Combining the Navy’s EW expertise will further allow our warfighters to complete safe and effective missions,” White said.
