FY2022 Electronic Warfare Funding Trends
Updated September 16, 2021
Many defense analysts consider electronic warfare (EW), which disrupts an adversary’s command and
control networks, a critical 21
st
-century combat capability. During a March 19, 2021, House Armed
Services Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems hearing, several EW
experts noted that China and Russia have developed sophisticated EW expertise. Such expertise raises
potential concerns that either country may challenge the U.S. military’s ability to access the
electromagnetic spectrum. At the hearing, Representative Langevin remarked, “Future combat will be less
about the capability of individual weapon systems and more about how a network of systems
communicate and work together through the use of the electromagnetic spectrum.”
EW has become a priority issue for both the executive branch and Congress. To facilitate congressional
oversight, this Insight analyzes changes in FY2019-FY2022 Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation
(RDT&E) and procurement funding requests, tracks the proportions of RDT&E investments by budget
activity, and examines funding trends within military departments.
In an effort to identify emerging EW technologies, the Deputy Secretary of Defense established the EW
Executive Committee (EW EXCOM) in 2015. More recently, the FY2017 National Defense
Authorization Act (NDAA) (P.L. 114-328) required the EW EXCOM to develop an EW strategy. The
2017 EW strategy identified EW research and development programs in order to track their progress and
gain insight into the overall EW portfolio. For a discussion of this approach to following EW programs,
see the U.S. Military Electronic Warfare Program Funding: Background and Issues for Congress.
