\u201cI think that some of the soldiers were surprised by how they were able to use it at JRTC [the\u00a0Joint Readiness Training Center<\/a>] to identify enemy drones and things like that,\u201d said Lt. Col. John Cross, the Army\u2019s product manager for the system. \u201cIt kind of has opened the minds of the commanders as to what\u2019s possible.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the units was able to actually take one of these systems [and] put it up on an aerostat\u201d \u2014 that is, a tethered balloon \u2014 to expand its field of view beyond what they could scan from ground level, Cross continued. \u201cThat\u2019s not something that we necessarily told them to do, that\u2019s something that they came up with. \u2026 We take that feedback and then we share it across the Army.\u201d<\/p>\n That approach embodies the Army\u2019s new emphasis on what it calls \u201ctransformation in contact<\/a>\u201d: issuing new kit to combat units early on, often while it\u2019s still in development, and incorporating real soldiers\u2019 feedback on how it works in field conditions, or doesn\u2019t, so improvements can be made. \u201cWe\u2019re using this user feedback to inform our tactics, techniques and procedures \u2026 to understand how we need to drive new software development \u2026 [and] to drive our new requirements\u201d for future systems, Cross said.<\/p>\n Based on such soldier feedback, the TLS-Manpack program is already streamlining how it distributes software updates. Rapid updates are important for any modern weapons system, but\u00a0especially so for electronic warfare<\/a>: Combat experience\u00a0in Ukraine<\/a>\u00a0has shown that a new technique can emerge, be employed to devastating effect against enemy drones or other radio-dependent systems, and then be countered, all within a matter of weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cThe evolving nature of the threat \u2026 is going to require agility and flexibility we haven\u2019t seen,\u201d said\u00a0Brig. Gen. Ed Barker<\/a>, the Army\u2019s program executive officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (PEO-IEW&S). \u201cWhatever kit we\u2019re providing to [units] now, it can\u2019t be the same in two or three years. \u2026 We have to constantly evolve, based on all this feedback.\u201d<\/p>\n But traditionally, the Army has distributed software updates for sensitive equipment by periodically sending compact discs full of new code to unit\u00a0headquarters, with soldiers or contractors then bringing in each item to update it.<\/p>\n The TLS-Manpack program started with that \u201colder model [of] let\u2019s ship a CD,\u201d Cross said, but \u201cwe moved away from that.\u201d Soldiers can now download software updates from an online portal, using the military\u2019s secure but unclassified NIPR network, he said, then load the updates onto removable media to take back to their units. The service is even looking at the possibility of distributing updates \u201cover the air,\u201d via wireless networks, the way commercial companies like Apple and Tesla do, although the military needs greater security for its software.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re moving toward the Tesla model,\u201d Cross said. \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile,\u00a0as the program continues to evolve, production is kicking into higher gear. The first set of six TLS-Manpack systems went to a brigade of 10th Mountain Division in August, followed by a second set to a brigade of the 101st Airborne by the end of October. \u201cNow,\u201d Cross said, \u201cwe are on pace to field one brigade a month in FY [fiscal year] 25 and two brigades a month in FY26.\u201d<\/p>\n A Rapid Renaissance For EW?<\/strong><\/p>\n After years of experiments with different electronic-warfare systems and small-scale, ad hoc deployments abroad, the Army launched a formal competition in early 2023 and picked\u00a0CACI<\/a>\u00a0Mastodon to build a prototype TLS Manpack with\u00a0a $1.5 million award<\/a>\u00a0last September, followed by\u00a0a $99.99 million award<\/a>\u00a0this July to begin production.\u00a0\u201cIn just under 18 months, we were able to buy a commercial off-the-shelf solution developed by CACI Mastodon and begin to field that,\u201d Cross said, using streamlined processes such as Middle Tier Acquisition and Other Transaction Authority.<\/p>\n The TLS-Manpack was designed, as its name implies, to be operated by a single soldier wearing it like a backpack. But the system is flexible and configurable enough to be used in other ways, explained assistant product manager Capt. Austin Knighton. Soldiers can strip it down to just the basic sensors \u2014 able to detect enemy transmissions but not to actively jam them \u2014 and get a handheld configuration weighing less than five pounds. They can also add additional sensors, extra batteries and electronic attack capabilities, with the maxed-out configuration weighing over 30 pounds \u2014 best suited for use at a static observation post or on a vehicle (or, apparently, in some cases, from a balloon).<\/p>\n In a typical configuration, one Army sergeant told reporters, TLS-Manpack can operate for 72 hours without going back to base for\u00a0more batteries<\/a>, while being \u201ceasily half the weight\u201d of the portable systems the service has tried out in the past.<\/p>\n A single system can operate on its own, but it can also share data over Army tactical networks. That lets multiple Manpacks work together to triangulate the precise coordinates of an enemy transmitter; future upgrades should let it share data and even take temporary control of other Army EW systems as a well. The Manpack\u2019s data can also flow back over the network to Army command posts, populating digital map displays \u2014 such as the widely-used\u00a0Tactical Assault Kit<\/a>\u00a0(TAK) \u2014 with real-time intelligence on hostile, neutral, and friendly signals.<\/p>\n \u201cIt integrates very well with the TAK family of software, [so] this is very easy for the commander to understand,\u201d instead of the data only being intelligence to EW specialists, the sergeant said. \u201cWe\u2019re getting a lot of capability out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Manpack, in turn, is just one piece of a much larger\u00a0renaissance in US Army electronic warfare<\/a>. The Terrestrial Layer System, which combines EW and signals intelligence capabilities, is also being developed in much larger, vehicle-mounted versions: TLS-BCT for Brigade Combat Teams and the even more powerful TLS-EAB for divisions, corps, and other \u201cechelons above brigade.\u201d Meanwhile, the\u00a0much-delayed<\/a>\u00a0airborne Multi-Function Electronic Warfare (MFEW) system is set to enter service as a pod for Grey Eagle drones in\u00a02026<\/a>.<\/p>\n Electronic warfare \u201crequires a layered approach,\u201d said Brig Gen. Barker. \u201cThere\u2019s not just a single silver bullet to solve the problem.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.fie.undef.edu.ar\/ceptm\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Army-TLS-Manpack-8771410-1024x576.jpg\")