Owning the Spectrum: How the Army Is Reinventing Electromagnetic Warfare
Colonel Leslie Gorman, Army Capability Manager for Electromagnetic Warfare (EW), explains how the Army is transforming its approach to EW by adopting an agile, iterative process that delivers capabilities to the field faster than ever before. She says the goal is to equip soldiers with modern tools within months rather than years, while simultaneously updating training, doctrine, and policy to support their use. Gorman highlights that EW can no longer be treated as a standalone capability—its integration with cyber operations and information operations is essential to achieving electromagnetic spectrum superiority.
Beans, Bullets, and Bytes: Rethinking Data for the Modern Battlefield
Modern warfare is no longer just about firepower — it’s about information. Hangsang Bae, Public Sector Chief Technology Officer at Zscaler, says that computing and data at the tactical edge are now as vital as food and ammunition. “It’s always been beans and bullets,” he says. “But now it’s beans, bullets, and bytes. Bytes are just as important as the beans and bullets.”
Agile Army: How PEO EIS Is Transforming Digital Modernization
The U.S. Army’s digital transformation is well underway, and Brigadier General Robert Mikesh, Deputy Program Executive Officer for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), says the shift is reshaping how the Army delivers software across its portfolio. “We actually started a digital transformation in the spring of 2023,” Mikesh explains.
Securing AI in Defense
Steve Jacyna, Director at Carahsoft, emphasized the responsible deployment of AI in defense environments. He outlined three central pillars: treating AI identity like a human identity with strict authentication and zero trust policies, ensuring humans remain in the decision loop, and embedding ethical frameworks to prevent misuse in sensitive military contexts.
Information Advantage Across the Competition Continuum
Colonel John Agnello, Commander of the 2nd Theater Information Advantage Detachment at Army Cyber Command, described how the Army’s detachments integrate cyber, electronic warfare, psychological operations, civil affairs, and public affairs to give commanders a clear view of the information environment.
Trusted Data at the Edge for Multi-Domain Operations
Von Gardiner, Director of DoD and Distinguished Technologist at Hewlett Packard Enterprise, emphasized integrating trusted data and decision-making across all domains—air, land, sea, space, and cyber.
Winning the AI Race
Tom Stockmeyer, Managing Director for Government and Critical Infrastructure at Cyware, described the AI race as central to future military power projection and defense. He argued that U.S. success depends on unleashing American innovation with minimal regulation, while carefully testing and auditing AI deployments.
Lessons from Ukraine: Data, AI, and Electromagnetic Warfare
David May, Senior Cyber Intelligence Advisor at the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence, and CW5 Travis Ysen, Senior Technology Advisor at U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command, explained how Ukraine’s battlefield underscores the decisive role of electromagnetic warfare.
Elevating Non-Kinetic Effects to Kinetic Reliability
Tom Afferton, President of the Cyber Mission Sector at Peraton, discussed bringing cyber, electronic warfare, and information operations up to the same level of reliability as kinetic effects.
