Slide over cyber commands, the Defense Department could bear a new warfighting domain. The DOD is tinkering with the notion of recognizing the electromagnetic spectrum as a new warfare domain.

Such a policy change would come on the heels of the paramount decision in 2006 when the DOD added a fifth domain—cyberspace—to its arsenal. Though it has been a decade, cyber warfare is an area in which operators still wrestle with daunting guidelines to carry out warfare in the manmade field.

Given that, is the Pentagon ready for a sixth domain?

Yes, offers Kevin Kelly, CEO of LGS Innovations, which researches, develops and deploys networking and communications solutions for government and commercial organizations. It’s also time.

Technological advancements paired with the ubiquitous nature of wireless devices has increased the threats posed to the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) and electronic warfare (EW), Kelly says. Additionally, the cost for electronic warfare technology has dropped, fueled by the number of commercial wireless devices on the market. “That has driven the cost per component down to a level where it's very inexpensive to pull together a jamming system or an eavesdropping system or a spoofing system.”

There used to be a time when signal analyzers were available only to universities with hundreds of thousands of dollars to spend on high-tech laboratory infrastructure. Now, technology exists that lets a common smartphone analyze wireless spectrum—at a cost of hundreds of dollars. “It's putting a lot of technology into the hands of a lot of people, and that's what makes the threat increase,” Kelly continues. “It's not so much that there's a technological disadvantage—it's just that there are so many people who now have access to this technology.”

Defense Department leaders are reviewing a possible policy change, but have made no final decision on the matter. But in December, DOD Chief Information Officer Terry Halvorsen told Breaking Defense the department is exploring a number of policy options, “to include the potential recognition of the EMS as a domain,” the online publication reported.

For some time, the Defense Department has examined how to optimize the electromagnetic spectrum, particularly as it and the federal government face a spectrum crunch and mounting political and commercial pressures. In February 2014, the Defense Department presented a multiyear spectrum management strategy aimed at mitigating problems provoked by the ever-increasing demand for wireless spectrum while maintaining national security goals.

“Given our increasing dependence on the EMS, and the increased use globally, we must examine all aspects of our approach to it to ensure effective warfighting capabilities,” says Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson, USA, a Pentagon spokeswoman. DOD leadership is “still conducting analysis across all activities and have not entered anything into a decision-making process.”

Recognizing EMS as its own specific domain would better direct leadership attention and funding toward a nucleus of modern warfighting made up of sensors, drones, jammers and radar as the United States seeks to grow its electronic warfare capabilities to counter growing threats, Kelly says.

“If cyber made sense as a domain because it helps the DOD focus its buying pattern and leadership message … and they can say this is part of an overall campaign, then [an EMS domain is] a good thing,” Kelly says. “It forces people to consider it from all different angles. It's a good rallying point, not only for leadership to do battle planning and systems acquisition planning, but all the way down to the soldier level.”

While EW, EMS and cyber all are interlaced, it’s not enough to simply dovetail them together, Kelly says. “There's a different role that cyber plays. The cyber threat is so concerning because of the low cost of entry and the general knowledge that is available globally to participate in cyber offensive campaigns. Two bright guys in a garage in you name the country can get together and pull together a pretty sophisticated and effective cyber attack on the right vulnerable source.

“It makes it hard to find the enemy—they are everywhere and they are nowhere," he continues.

Recognition of EMS as its own warfare domain is not the be-all and end-all, Kelly shares, but would help with the psyche behind warfare and commit leadership to divide tasks into manageable chunks. “Electronic warfare is something that has been around for a very long time, but not necessarily a focus area for a weapon system or defensive measures or certainly not in the front of every soldier’s mind as they are executing the mission,” Kelly offers. “Maybe this helps to put it there. If nothing else, the awareness we have of our adversaries and their capabilities in this space leads us to believe this is something we need to focus on. We do not have a dominant position in this battlefield, in this domain.”