For the first time in a decade, the Army has released a new electronic field manual (FM) on electronic warfare: FM 30-36 Electronic Warfare in Operations.
Released at last week’s Association of the United States Army Institute for Land Warfare Winter Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., FM 3-36 provides the Army with the doctrinal foundation to support current and future full spectrum operations as well as supporting current and future joint and multinational operations.
The new publication, developed and published in concert with an overall service effort to rebuild its internal electronic warfare capability, was released by the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command’s Combined Arms Center.
Earlier this month, the Army approved the creation of a new electronic warfare career field for officers, warrant officers and enlisted to build expertise in the field not only to defeat threats such as IEDs, but also to leverage the electronic environment for tactical advantage.
Over the next three years the service plans to add as many as 1,600 EW personnel at all levels of command.
The publication replaces outdated doctrine that often addressed organizations, systems and capabilities that no longer exist or are relevant. Previous doctrine also was not in line with Joint EW publications.
The new FM 3-36 is to guide commanders at all levels on EW operations, and becomes the reference for those involved in developing doctrine, materiel, force structure, and training.
The publication consists of seven chapters, greater depth in several areas in appendices and an annotated glossary for selected terms.