In an exclusive interview, Armada chats to Don Bacon, a tireless electronic warfare advocate who has recently been re-elected to the US House of Representatives.
On 3rd January Representatives and Senators for the United States’ 119th Congress will be sworn in following the Presidential and Congressional elections on 3rd November. Don Bacon will be taking his seat as Representative for Nebraska’s Second Congressional District. Mr. Bacon is not new to Congress having served as the representative for this district since 2016. He came to Congress from the US military having retired as a United States Air Force (USAF) Brigadier General. During his military career, Mr. Bacon was closely involved with Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations (EMSO). He served at Offutt airbase. Offutt is home to the USAF’s Boeing RC-135V/W Rivet Joint and RC-135U Combat Sent signals intelligence gathering aircraft.
Previous experience
Mr. Bacon shared with Armada his perspectives regarding the EMSO challenges faced by the US military and the country writ large: “As a career Electronic Warfare (EW) officer in the US Air Force, I entered Congress deeply concerned about the significant decline in the readiness of our electronic warfare capabilities.” Upon election, Mr. Bacon immediately got to work tackling this decline: “My journey to restore US EW dominance started back in 2017 when I was sworn in as a member of the 115th Congress and became a member of the House Armed Services Committee.” He reflected on his experience as a keen EW advocate within the US Department of Defence (DOD). His work backing electronic warfare in the Pentagon would prove useful in the corridors of power: “I remember being a one-star in the Pentagon between 2012 and 2014 and advocating for EW and being told at the three-star level that it was not a priority. It took getting into Congress to make a real impact.”
Budgetary realities
Unsurprisingly given his previous USAF career Mr. Bacon has taken a close interest in the US Air Force’s EW posture, and how this needs to develop: “Department of the Air Force (DAF) progress on modernising its electronic warfare capability continues to struggle with speed of progress and budget prioritisation,” he argued. “While we have had some success in keeping the USAF on task with the Gulfstream/L3 Harris EA-37B Compass Call (communications jamming aircraft) replacement programme, recent discussions with stakeholders indicate additional Congressional engagement with Air Force leadership would be helpful in building additional momentum within the Air Force to improve combat readiness and capabilities in the electromagnetic spectrum.”
Available funds for EW is concerning, particular when other priorities like the ongoing modernisation of the US nuclear deterrent is taken into account: “The real issue impacting electronic warfare now is that our top line budget is too small with all the other nuclear modernisation costs going on. We are spending three percent of our gross domestic product on defence, which is a historical low going back to before the Second World War.” Reflecting the spirit of bipartisanship which Mr. Bacon is known for, he emphasised his agreement with the recent comments of Frank Kendall, Secretary of the Air Force, “that progress requires resources and right now the resources just aren’t there.”
Acquisition efficiency
Ensuring that EW capabilities and readiness receive the prioritisation they deserve is not just about money. Mr. Bacon talked about the need to improve acquisition efficiency. To this end, he has “been asked to press the Department of the Air Force on modifying its acquisition management structure to ensure a clear demand signal and more direct pathways for faster development of new electronic warfare and electromagnetic spectrum capabilities.”
Beyond the questions of acquisition and budgets, Mr. Bacon is keen to wave the EW flag in Congress and highlight the importance of EMSO throughout the wider US political community: “As the CITI (Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation) subcommittee chair and the Electronic Warfare Caucus chair, along with my position on the Tactical Air and Land Force and Strategic Forces subcommittees, I will press the Air Force leadership to be more aggressive on improving Air Force EW/EMS modernisation and readiness. To that end, I already have hosted a member level CITI classified JEMSO (Joint EMSO) update briefing to share (the US Strategic Command’s) evaluation of current joint EMSO capabilities and highlighted a report on EA-37B force structure requirements from the Secretary of the Air Force at an in-person briefing last September.” Moreover, “I am interested in working with the Air Force leadership to ensure the DAF reorganisation ensures faster, more integrated acquisition of advanced EW/EMS capabilities.”
As the US embarks on her next political era with a new Congress and Executive, electromagnetic support operations will be firmly on the defence and national security agendas. Mr. Bacon and his colleagues will no doubt work hard to ensure that EMSO questions receive the attention they need. Pressure will continue on DOD procurement and management structures to ensure their suitability for EMSO acquisition and modernisation.
by Dr. Thomas Withington
