The Air Force wants to “re-establish itself as a leader in electronic warfare,” said Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle, deputy chief of staff for operations, plans and requirements. Doing so will keep the service’s legacy platforms “viable well into the future,” he told the House Armed Services Committee’s readiness panel last week. To accomplish this goal, the service intends to speed up the procurement of active electronically scanned array radars and “electronic protect software upgrades,” he said. It also plans to add two EC-130H Compass Call aircraft over the next five fiscal years. (Carlisle written statement)
Pentagon officials overseeing homeland counter-drone strategy told lawmakers that even with preliminary moves to bolster U.S. base defenses, the military still lacks the capability to comprehensively identify, track, and engage hostile drones like those that breached the airspace of Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days in December…