Will US Army troops be getting backpackable cyberattack capabilities?
The US Army has shared details on how its new backpack electronic warfare system will complement the manoeuvre force.
The army’s overarching Terrestrial Layered System (TLS) EW capability includes three distinct strands: first, the programme is procuring a vehicle-based system known as TLS-BCT (Brigade Combat Team) to be deployed at brigade level and below. The TLS-EAB (Echelon Above Brigade) vehicle-mounted system meanwhile will provide EW at the divisional level and above... Continues below
Newsletter Sponsor:
Above: The US Army is moving ahead with its TLS-BCT backpack acquisition which will see new dismounted cyber and EW systems furnishing the manoeuvre force. (Photo: US Army)
Alongside their EW capabilities, both the TLS-EAB and TLS-BCT will perform cyberwarfare tasks. The TLS effort is overseen by the army’s Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors Programme Executive Office (PEO IEW&S) with Lockheed Martin leading the industrial elements of both programmes.
Part of the TLS-BCT undertaking includes the procurement of a backpack-based EW system for dismounted troops. In mid-September a US Army press release announced it had concluded an Other Transaction Authority (OTH) agreement concerning the TLS-BCT manpack with Mastodon Design.
OTH agreements are not formal contracts but are used as vehicles for research and development, as US government literature notes. The OTH award is worth $1.5 million and will move the TLS-BCT backpack initiative to Phase 1. The release said this phase covers construction and demonstration of a prototype. Phase 1 is expected to last nine months.
A spokesperson for PEO IEW&S told the author that the first backpack prototypes should be delivered for an operational demonstration in Q1 of 2024. They added that the first units could then be issued to the manoeuvre force by the end of that year.
The backpack will provide electronic attack and support. Although the army is staying quiet on the system’s exact capabilities, this could include detection, identification and location of hostile emitters. Dismounted EW cadres are typically tasked with performing these missions and attacking hostile systems transmitting on frequencies of 30MHz to 3GHz. This waveband covers the lion’s share of frequencies used for civilian and military communications.
In addition, the spokesperson referred to ‘cyber enabling’ capabilities for the backpack. This could be a reference to the system’s ability to deliver cyberattacks. For example, jamming signals could be modulated to include malicious code.
These signals could then be transmitted from the backpack to enter hostile communications systems within range via their antennas. Once inside, the code could infect these systems or travel through associated networks to infect other targets.
Command and control for the TLS-BCT backpack will be provided by the army’s Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT). Raytheon is delivering the EWPMT which provides battle management for US Army operational and tactical electronic and cyber warfare capabilities supporting the manoeuvre force.
Don't want to miss out on future Decisive Edge content? Make sure you are signed up to our email newsletters.
