A unique experiment in Electronic Warfare has passed its initial trials in the great Southwest. The result - Army EW may never be the same

The men of the United States Army Aviation Electronic Warfare Company (USAAEWCo) have labored over the past several years to implement and refine a highly sophisticated airborne EW system.

Under the project name CEFIRM Leader, the system was designed to provide the full spectrum of EW support. This versatile conglomeration could not, or course, fly right from the drawing boards into the Army inventory. Extensive research and development was essential. In anticipation of receiving and testing the system, the 2nd ASA Co. was formed in December, 1967.

Two years later, while work proceeded at Beech Aircraft and McDonnell Douglas, the 2nd ASA Co. was renamed the US Army Aviation EW Co. It is supervised by the Special Projects Division of USASA's Deputy Chief of Staff for Research and Development (DCSR&D).

Coinciding with the name change, the unit moved from Ft. Huachuca, Arizona, to its present home at Ft. Bliss, TX. This transition was facilitated by the leadership shown by the unit's first commander and first sergeant, Major John E. Feit, and Master Sergeant Forrest E. Butler. The company was assigned facilities under its Intraservice Support Agreement with the US Army Air Defense Center. Under the agreement, USAEWCo is a tenant unit temporarily located at Ft. Bliss.

USAAEWCo has its own motor pool and a large hangar facility. Flight operations, aircraft maintenance and electronic/avionics maintenance are all located at the hangar. The hangar is also the home of the company's mammoth Operations and Electronic Maintenance Mobil Facility. Commonly called the operations and maintenance support complex, it consists of 21 interconnected shelters mounted on seven huge low-bed trailers. After the last components of the complex were delivered in April 1972, the unit had the capability of supporting the CEFIRM Leader system in a tactical environment.

Despite delays in delivery of CEFIRM Leader, including one caused by a three-month strike at McDonnell Douglas in early 1972, morale in the company remained consistently high. To maintain their proficiency, a rigorous series of refresher training programs was initiated in 1971. These were conducted in conjunction with courses established specifically for USAAEWCo personnel at Beech aircraft and McDonnell Douglas.

Upon receipt of the entire system in July 1972, the company intensified its training program. Five technical advisors were detailed to USAAEWCo from Radiation Incorporated, (an electronic firm). Operators spent many hours last fall familiarizing themselves with the intricacies of the new system; these were long, difficult hours both in flight and on the ground. USAAEWCo personnel, intensively trained by McDonnell Douglas, returned to Ft. Bliss to share their expertise, accompanied by engineers from McDonnell Douglas.

Of what value is this system, with all the years of research and development, the countless man-hours of training, and the enormous investment in complex electronic gear?

To find the answer, USAAEWCo "trucked" to Ft. Huachuca in January of this year. From January through April, with the advice and direction of the USASA Test and Evaluation Center, at Ft. Huachuca, AZ, the unit conducted a 90-day Military Potential Test (MPT) of the CERFIRM Leader System. Operating out of vans and various ground control elements, the company logged over 640 hours of mission performing flight time. Tests were conducted under simulated battlefield conditions, both for conventional and guerrilla warfare environments.

The USAAEWCo will be working in field exercises with tactical units at Ft. Bliss and will be experimenting more extensively in operations against multi-site ground environments.

Major Thomas C. Rankin, Jr., the company's outgoing CO, was justifiably proud of the unit's accomplishments. Commenting on the system's future, he said, "As the Army's only comprehensive airborne EW package, the system has great potential. It can give the tactical commander an invaluable tool and a powerful weapon."

The new commander, Major Charles S. Simerly, looks forward to seeing CEFIRM Leader tested in a tactical environment. The USAAEW Company will be participating in field exercises at Ft. Campbell, KY in early December. Later, they will join hundreds of other Army men in Brave Shield and Gallant Hand training exercises. The system will also be used with Project Masster at Ft. Hood, TX.