From the Crows' Nest

An electromagnetic warfare capability only counts if a warfighter can use it. But once it reaches the field, the adversary starts working on a way to beat it.

For today’s conversation, Ken Miller sits down with Andy Martin, Senior Scientific Technical Manager and Distinguished Engineer for Advanced Electronic Warfare at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane), to break down what “speed of relevance” means for EMSO capabilities. Together, they discuss Navy acquisition reform and the shift from PEOs to PAEs, how Crane tests effects nobody can see, and why open architecture and rapid reprogramming help fielded systems keep up with new threats. They also talk about how a culture of candor among engineers helps make interoperability possible.

We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.
To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

Electromagnetic spectrum operations touch nearly every part of modern warfare, yet the mission still has no clear owner.
For today’s conversation, Ken Miller sits down with Armada International editor and military historian Dr. Thomas Withington to break down why EMSO remains so hard to organize and prioritize. Together, they discuss whether a dedicated EMSO authority could coordinate the services and cut duplicate procurement, then they walk through a hypothetical GPS-jamming crisis in the Baltic to ask who would lead the military and civilian response if critical infrastructure were hit. They also make the case for distributed, affordable land EW systems, drawing on Ukraine’s real-world testing experience, and ask whether NATO needs an EW version of Red Flag.
We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.
To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

Special operations teams rely on the spectrum to communicate and see the battlefield, but every signal they send also tells an opponent where to look.

For today’s conversation, Ken Miller sits down with retired Colonel Jeff Fischer to break down how the special operations and spectrum warfare communities can work more closely together. Together, they discuss what Fischer saw at the Global Special Operations Forces event in Rome, what the EC-130H Compass Call airframe retirement means for airborne electronic attack mission and the future of the new EA-37B Compass Call, why Europe may be the best market for multi-role business-jet platforms, and how cheap drones that home in on radio signals could turn any jammer or transmitter into a target.

We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.

To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

Recent operations involving Iran have handed the US direct lessons in electromagnetic warfare, and the open question is whether the Pentagon will act on them.

For today's conversation, Ken Miller sits down with John Knowles, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Electromagnetic Dominance (JED), to break down what Operation Epic Fury means for EMSO. Together, they discuss directed energy moving into production, why buying more interceptors is easier than changing organizations, and AOC's push for an EMSO combat support agency. John also argues for a dedicated DOD Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO) for spectrum and explains why Golden Dome and counter-UAS make shared spectrum an operational problem at home.
We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.
To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.

An operation planned around the electromagnetic spectrum as an afterthought works right up until the enemy adapts to it.
For today's conversation, Ken Miller sits down with retired Colonel Dr. William "Dollar" Young, AOC Board Member Scott “Sherm” Oliver, and Booz Allen Director of Defense Technology Group Jarod Patton to break down what came out of INFOPAC 2026. Together, they discuss why false certainty is dangerous in AI-enabled systems and how double-loop learning helps commanders test their own assumptions before committing to a theory of victory. The conversation also gets into what lessons from Ukraine mean for rapid reprogramming and scalable EW systems.
We invite you to share your thoughts, questions, or suggestions for future episodes by emailing host Ken Miller at host@fromthecrowsnest.org or by visiting us on our Instagram @fromthecrowsnestpodcast.
To learn more about today's topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our homepage.