In the current context, electronic warfare has been acting as one of the most important forms of warfare that contributes to deciding whether a battle is won or lost. Being fully aware of that, the Department of Electronic Warfare (DEW) has proactively synchronously adopted measures to improve its synergy and combat power for the Fatherland protection in any situation.

To keep pace with the development of the Military build-up, national defence consolidation, and the Fatherland protection, on April 30^th, 1992, the DEW under the General Staff was founded and initially performed its role as a leading office for electronic warfare and techniques of electronic warfare. As a new combat force of the Military, the Department’s organisational structure and equipment were limited. Technical support and staff members’ professional competence did not satisfy the DEW’s task requirements. However, with knowledge, enthusiasm, responsibility, and tireless effort of generations of cadres, employees, and soldiers, over the past 30 years, the DEW has always fulfilled all assigned missions. It should be noted that the DEW has given strategic advice to our Party, State, and Military, while submitting effective proposals to commanders of the Ministry of National Defence (MND) and the General Staff for directing the consolidation of its organisational structure and the uniform development of the electronic warfare force across the Military. It has directly commanded the MND’s mobile electronic force to successfully fulfil the tasks of combat readiness and combat, protect our country’s significant political events, and cooperate with units and local party committees and authorities in opportunely, effectively dealing with complex issues within several “hot spots,” thereby making contributions to foiling hostile forces’ sabotage strategy, maintaining political security, and ensuring social order and safety. With those outstanding achievements, the DEW has been given Second-Class and Third-Class Military Exploit Orders, First-Class and Second-Class Feat of Arms Orders, and First-Class and Third-Class Fatherland Protection Orders by the State. Brigade 87 of the DEW has been presented with the title of Hero of the People’s Armed Forces.

At present, the situation on a global and regional scale witnesses complex, unpredictable developments. Domestically, in addition to stability in political, economic, social, defence, and security terms, hostile forces step up their sabotage strategy against our revolution via cunning artifices. Non-traditional and traditional security challenges and plots of threatening or violating our national independence, sovereignty, unification, and territorial integrity are on the rise and impose higher task requirements on the Military in general, the electronic warfare force in particular. Grounded on the Department’s functions and tasks, the DEW’s Party Committee and Command continue synchronously implementing various measures to build a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” electronic warfare force with great combat power and a high level of manoeuvrability and combat readiness.

The General Staff inspecting the DEW’s combat projects during the exercise MB-17

To that end, first of all, the DEW will focus its leadership and direction on consolidating its organisational structure, strictly maintaining combat readiness regulations, and successfully dealing with situations to avoid falling into passivity. Grasping the Party’s military-defence guidelines and the development of electronic warfare in the world and the region, in the upcoming time, the DEW will concentrate on giving advice to the Central Military Commission (CMC) and the MND on measures to build the electronic warfare force, supplement equipment, and organise electronic warfare. Emphasis will be placed on executing the Project to build a revolutionary, regular, elite, modern electronic warfare force towards 2025 and beyond, making the posture of electronic warfare relevant to each region and area, and consolidating offices and units of electronic warfare into “compactness and strength,” with high manoeuvrability, in accordance with the development of tasks, weapons, and technical equipment. Due attention will be paid to realising the Strategy for ensuring electronic warfare equipment in the period of 2021-2030 and beyond so as to sufficiently, opportunely provide weapons and equipment for missions.

Additionally, the DEW will frequently grasp situations, objects of combat, and methods of using the electronic warfare force in various types of warfare and in hi-tech warfare. It will adjust, supplement, and practise combat readiness projects, plans, and documents to improve its manoeuvrability and combat readiness. It will stringently maintain regulations on combat readiness, command, headquarters, and combat duty, while promoting the role of the electronic warfare automated command system in commanding and directing the Military’s electronic warfare. It will make reconnaissance of electronic warfare situations in key regions and areas and actively detect electronic signs to anticipate hostile forces and political opportunists’ plots and artifices, opportunely propose remedial projects, and proactively prepare personnel to take part in combating “peaceful evolution,” conversions, terrorist attacks, and armed interventions and safeguarding crucial targets and political events of our Party, State, and Military. Besides, it will closely collaborate with the Navy and the Vietnam Coast Guard in firmly protecting national sovereignty over seas and islands.

Second, achieve a breakthrough in raising the quality of training and exercises. As for the DEW, this is the central political task and an important measure aimed at improving its synergy and combat readiness capacity. Grounded on the CMC’s Conclusion 60-KL/QUTW, dated January 18^th, 2019 on continuing executing the CMC’s Resolution 765-NQ/QUTW and the General Staff Party Committee’s Resolution 171-NQ/ĐU, dated June 10^th, 2013 on “raising the quality of training in the period of 2013-2020 and beyond,” the DEW will concentrate its leadership and direction on renewing training management and operation as well as contents and methods of training and exercises. It will require offices and units to strengthen all-level party committees and commands’ leadership and direction over training work, clearly define responsibility of offices and commands for counselling, directing, managing, and operating training work, particularly the training of cadres, and stringently maintain procedures for training commands, offices, and tactical-level units. It will enhance inspection and re-inspection of training outcome to draw lessons and resolutely settle weaknesses, oversimplification, formalism, and merit-driven practices in the training process.

Due to various components engaging in electronic warfare training, the DEW will direct offices and units to frequently update scientific and technological application and electronic warfare art in wars for our Fatherland protection and in the world so as to develop training programmes relevant to each group of troops and each force’s functions and tasks. In the training process, great value will be attached to adhering to the motto of “basics, practicality, and solidity” and organising synchronous, intensive training courses in accordance with combat reality, objects of combat, and the existing weapons and equipment. Significance will be attached to improving troops’ professional technical knowledge and training troops to master the existing equipment for electronic warfare, master modern equipment, and flexibly, creatively apply technical professions. Emphasis will be placed on training forces, particularly the combat readiness force to master tactics at all levels and know how to apply techniques to each form of tactics and each type of campaign. Consideration will be given to organising and participating in joint combat exercises, field training exercises with the signal force, and general tactical exercises. Due attention will be paid to organising field training marches, night-time training courses, and training courses at sea in harsh weather conditions and hi-tech warfare. The DEW will cooperate with offices of the MND, the General Staff, and military schools in designing training programmes for cadets and actively creating a favourable condition for its cadres and employees to study both at home and abroad in order to improve their competence and facilitate the building of a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” electronic warfare force.

Third, raise the quality of technical work and scientific research. In the short term, the DEW will actively propose projects to provide technical support for the electronic warfare force in a “synchronous, solid, selective” manner, with priority given to mobile electronic warfare units of the MND, the Navy, and the Air Defence – Air Force Service. In the long term, it will direct its competent offices to develop and standardise technological procedures for preserving, maintaining, and repairing weapons and technical equipment. It will strictly maintain regulations on technical work and guarantee technical coefficient of equipment for training, combat readiness, and combat. It will bring into play the effectiveness of its technical facilities and construct a system of technical centres according to its strategic regions and depots. It will continue adjusting the planning of technical depots, stations, and workshops according to its tasks, combat projects, and operational areas. Besides, it will step up the Campaign titled “managing and exploiting weapons and technical equipment effectively, sustainably, safely, economically, and ensuring traffic safety,” while bettering the capacity of its existing weapons and equipment. It will effectively execute Prime Minister’s Directive 16/CT-TTg, dated May 4^th, 2017 on strengthening capacity to access the 4^th industrial revolution and accelerate the Plan on building an e-Government within itself in the period of 2020-2025. It will actively research into innovation and manufacture of weapons and equipment, transfer technologies for manufacturing materiel, and promote on-the-spot resources to master equipment for electronic equipment.

Furthermore, the DEW will focus on directing the building of “exemplarily, typically” comprehensively strong offices and units, enhancing internal political protection, consolidating all-level party committees and commands, strictly maintaining principles of the Party’s meetings, proactively developing, reviewing, adjusting, supplementing, and stringently implementing its whole-tenure action programmes and work and leadership regulations. Last but not least, it will frequently renew all-level party committees and commands’ working methods and styles, maintain discipline, expand democracy, and promote collective knowledge in the implementation of resolutions, plans, and programmes on building a “revolutionary, regular, elite, modern” electronic warfare force for the Fatherland construction and protection.

Lt. Gen. PHAM HUY DUNG, Director of the DEW