101st Airborne

Soldiers from the Multi-Functional Reconnaissance Company, 3rd Mobile Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), trained with the Tactical Electronic Warfare System–Infantry mounted on an Infantry Squad Vehicle for the first time during a Joint Readiness Training Center rotation held April 7–17, 2026. The exercise marked the first field evaluation of TEWS-I integrated onto the ISV platform, bringing a new class of mobile electronic warfare capability to one of the Army's most storied light infantry formations. The JRTC rotation is the Army's premier combat training environment, designed to stress-test units and systems under realistic, high-intensity conditions before operational deployment. Running TEWS-I through that environment — rather than a controlled test range — gave the 101st's electronic warfare specialists their first real look at how the system performs under field conditions, with the friction and unpredictability of a simulated near-peer fight. According to General Dynamics Mission Systems, the TEWS-I on the ISV creates what the company describes as a "middleweight" electronic warfare capability — more powerful than man-portable systems but lighter and faster than the heavy vehicle platforms that have traditionally hosted EW equipment in Army formations. The Infantry Squad Vehicle itself is a commercially derived, lightweight off-road platform designed specifically for rapid air assault operations and distributed maneuver. Its small footprint and air-transportability make it a natural fit for the 101st Airborne's core mission set, and mounting TEWS-I on it gives electronic warfare teams the ability to move with maneuver forces rather than trailing behind in heavier, slower vehicles. That mobility shift is operationally significant: EW teams that can keep pace with infantry can reach better collection positions faster, reposition before the enemy can track and target them, and integrate electronic effects into the fight in real time rather than from a fixed supporting position. Sgt. Javan Isaiah, an electronic warfare specialist and EW squad leader with the MFRC, was candid about the conditions his team operated under heading into the rotation. "This was my first time using the system in the field," Isaiah said. "We only had about three days of actual hands-on time before coming out here, so a lot of what we learned came from troubleshooting in real time." Despite that compressed preparation window, Isaiah said his team adapted. "EW Soldiers are critical thinkers. We're used to new systems coming at us fast," he said. "We had to learn the ISV and the TEWS-I at the same time, but we figured it out together." The operational picture Isaiah described goes to the heart of why electronic warfare has become a top-tier priority in modern land combat. "There are enemies we can't see who live in the electronic battlespace," he said. "Our job is to find them, understand what they're doing, and give the commander options to stop them." TEWS-I gives commanders the ability to detect, identify, locate, and disrupt enemy signals — the full spectrum from passive collection through active jamming when authorized. As Isaiah put it: "If the enemy can't talk, they can't fight effectively. That gives our infantry an advantage." The mobility improvement over legacy EW platforms registered immediately during the rotation. "Mobility across the battlefield in this modified ISV was a game-changer compared to heavier vehicles," Isaiah said. "We can be employed faster, we can air assault in with the ISV, and we can get to the right place at the right time." That last point — arriving at the tactically decisive moment — captures exactly what the 101st's air assault identity demands of every system it fields. The TEWS-I ISV integration directly supports the Army's broader Transformation in Contact initiative and the development of Mobile Brigade Combat Team prototypes, efforts in which the 101st has been a leading test formation. The Army's emerging multidomain effects doctrine calls for cyber, electronic warfare, unmanned systems, and sensing capabilities to be pushed down to lower echelons — giving brigade and battalion commanders tools that were previously held only at higher levels. Putting TEWS-I on an ISV is a concrete expression of that concept. "The TEWS-I lives up to the air assault name by being a quick deployable fighting force," Isaiah said. "It helps us stay ahead of near-peer threats and operate in a multidomain environment." With the JRTC rotation complete, the 101st has demonstrated not just a new piece of equipment, but a new approach to integrating electronic warfare into the fast-moving, distributed formations that define air assault operations.

101st Airborne

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101st Airborne

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About The Defence Blog