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The use of electronic counter measures within naval aviation can be traced to 1943, when the U.S. Navy patrol aircraft were equipped with crude detection capabilities to track radar signals from enemy warships. Winston Churchill acknowledged contributions of electronic warfare to victory in World War II. Those were made possible through the coordinated efforts of the British government and the U.S. Navy Research Laboratory, where many new ideas and concepts were explored. For naval interests, perhaps the most remarkable exploit was defeat of the German radio-controlled glide bomb that had devastating success in sinking the U.S. and allied warships. Following the end of World War II, a survey to determine the value of the European bombing campaign proved the value of Army Air Force and Royal Air Force bombers equipped with a variety of countermeasures.

The article informs that certain U.S. agencies will hold a critical design review for an advanced development model of a multi-function electronic warfare system (MFEW). The U.S. Office of Naval Research, Naval Research Laboratory, the Program Executive Office for Integrated Warfare Systems, and Northrop Grumman Electronics Systems Sector will hold a critical design review in May for MFEW that the Navy plans to field on board the DD(X) next-generation destroyers. MFEW represents the electronic-warfare component of a proposed Integrated Digital Arrays and Radar Innovative Naval Prototype initiative, managed by Office of Naval Research's Information, Electronics, and Surveillance Department.