Electronic Warfare Cyber Applied Research

The Electronic Warfare Cyber Applied Research program, under Program Element (PE) 0602276A, is managed by the Army and funded through the Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) appropriation. The primary goal of this program is to investigate and develop advanced architectures, technologies, techniques, components, and tools to enhance Cyber and Electromagnetic Activities (CEMA) in support of Multi-Domain Joint Operations within tactical environments. The program aims to counter adversary Command, Control, Computing, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Targeting (C-C5ISR&T) capabilities by employing non-traditional access and effect vectors against enemy systems, communication networks, and decision centers. This research is intended to reduce the adversary's ability to execute command and control of its forces while simultaneously protecting Army tactical networks from modern cyber-attacks.

The program is part of the Department of Defense Capability Based (Agile) Funding pilot, which seeks to foster innovation and accelerate the deployment of promising technologies. The budget reflects a realignment of funding from previous cyber research projects, specifically C3I Applied Cyber and Network Access and Effects Technology, as well as Autonomous Cyber Technology. The research conducted under this program is consistent with the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering's priority focus areas and aligns with the Army modernization strategy.

Autonomous Cyber Technology is the main project funded under this program element. Its objective is to apply robust cybersecurity techniques to advanced communications and networking devices, software, algorithms, and protocols used in wireless tactical networks. The project focuses on defending against nation-state level CEMA threats and maintaining warfighter confidence in network information, resources, and mission partners by hardening the blue force attack surface. Additionally, the project investigates RF-enabled cyber approaches to disrupt, deny, degrade, destroy, and manipulate adversary C2ISR systems and capabilities. The work is performed by the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the C5ISR Center.

Predictive Intelligent Networking (PIN) is a key research effort within Autonomous Cyber Technology. The goal is to develop network micro-segmentation design patterns and advanced zero trust concepts for tactical networks. PIN aims to enable networks to autonomously identify, learn, predict, and react to changes in operating conditions and threats, ensuring end-to-end resiliency against adversarial AI-driven electronic and cyberattacks. Research includes integrating AI/ML techniques with micro-segmentation solutions to dynamically adjust network defenses in response to cyber activities.

RF Enabled Offensive Effects Technology is another major line item. This effort investigates new methodologies for delivering RF-enabled cyber effects from Army tactical systems positioned in RF proximity to adversary C2ISR capabilities. The research focuses on developing novel electronic warfare techniques that are portable across Army systems and can counter emerging threats. The project also leverages synthetic data enrichment to improve the generation and effectiveness of counter-ISR models.

Proactive Cyber Defense is dedicated to designing and characterizing software for protecting information and networks in bandwidth and resource-constrained tactical environments. The objective is to develop software algorithms that detect and defeat malicious activities, maintain agile cyber maneuver, and provide automated active defense through machine learning, anomaly detection, and decision aids. Research includes developing adversarial resilient AI/ML methods for cyber defense, investigating ensemble defenses against clean label attacks, and improving the resilience of network traffic classifiers against poisoning attacks.