El TLS-BCT Manpack est\u00e1 dise\u00f1ado para brindar a las tropas un medio m\u00f3vil para moldear el espectro electromagn\u00e9tico a su favor. Es una rama m\u00e1s peque\u00f1a del TLS-BCT, que se instalar\u00e1 a bordo de Stryker y veh\u00edculos blindados multiprop\u00f3sito, y del TLS-Echeclons Above Brigade de mayor alcance, previsto para su uso por divisiones y cuerpos en medio de los preparativos para luchar con Rusia y China. El Ej\u00e9rcito de EE UU est\u00e1 intentando revitalizar su arsenal de guerra electr\u00f3nica despu\u00e9s de a\u00f1os de complacencia. Si bien estas herramientas se utilizaron en el Gran Medio Oriente, las amenazas planteadas por las grandes potencias mundiales est\u00e1n motivando al ej\u00e9rcito estadounidense a repensar sus estrategias y gastos.<\/p>\n
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. \u2014 Preliminary testing of a portable jammer soldiers can sling to their backs and use to manipulate electronic signals while on the move was successful, according to its makers and a U.S. Army official.<\/p>\n
The service in November put the\u00a0Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack<\/a>, or TLS-BCT Manpack, through an operational demonstration at Fort Huachuca in Arizona. CACI International-owned Mastodon Design months earlier won a $1.5 million contract to prototype the system, built utilizing the company\u2019s existing Beast and Kraken electronic-warfare products.<\/p>\n \u201cI think we were very happy with what we saw and where it\u2019s going,\u201d Todd Probert, CACI\u2019s president of national security and innovative solutions, said in an interview at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California. \u201cWe\u2019re not sleeping on the last test. We\u2019re continuing to look to new modes of capability.\u201d<\/p>\n The TLS-BCT Manpack is designed to give troops a mobile means of molding the electromagnetic spectrum to their advantage. It is a smaller offshoot of the TLS-BCT,\u00a0to be installed aboard Stryker<\/a>\u00a0and Armored Multi-Purpose vehicles, and the longer-range TLS-Echeclons Above Brigade, envisioned for use by divisions and corps amid preparations for fighting with Russia and China.<\/p>\n A key consideration of the backpack version is its physical load: size, weight and power, often referred to as SWaP. Soldiers carry dozens of pounds of gear; adding to the pile can be annoying at least and debilitating at most.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re already asking people to carry too much stuff. In my judgement, those parts of the defense industry that can deliver an exquisite capability that doesn\u2019t break the back of the operator, literally, is going to be a premium,\u201d\u00a0Michael Nagata<\/a>, a CACI strategic adviser, senior vice president and retired Army lieutenant general, said in an interview at the forum. \u201cI mean, my average combat load when I was in service was well over 60 pounds.\u201d<\/p>\n The Army is attempting to reinvigorate its electronic warfare arsenal after years of complacency. While such tools were used in the Greater Middle East, threats posed by larger world powers are motivating the U.S. military to rethink its strategies and spending. Contracts for the TLS line have so far totaled tens of millions of dollars, with Lockheed Martin winning much of it. CACI is collaborating with the company on the TLS-EAB as well.<\/p>\n Army Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, the leader of the\u00a0Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors<\/a>, or PEO IEW&S, in a statement said the demonstration of the manpack last month \u201cset the standard\u201d for future users. Army Forces Command contributed to the evaluation.<\/p>\n \u201cThey were highly motivated, highly competent, innovative problem-solvers,\u201d Barker said. \u201cThey excelled at not only learning and operating the manpack system, but also demonstrated how their teams can successfully operate and influence the battlefield.\u201d<\/p>\n CACI in 2022 earned $4.3 billion in defense-related revenue, securing the No. 27 spot on\u00a0the Defense News Top 100 list<\/a>\u00a0of the world\u2019s largest defense contractors. The company bought Mastodon Design for $225 million in 2019.<\/p>\n