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First concerted MEWSIC performance goes down well with users
10 February 2026
Operations room specialists put the Navy’s next-generation Electronic Warfare system through its most comprehensive test yet.
Sailors from frigates HMS Richmond and Sutherland, EW experts from HMS Collingwood (the Royal Navy’s home of warfare training) and the Joint EW Operational Support Centre, based at RAF Waddington, tried out the new MEWSIC system and software.
Under scrutiny was not the Maritime Electromagnetic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC), but how sailors interact with it - human factors integration user trials.
Electronic/electromagnetic warfare capability is fundamental to identifying enemy forces, equipment and movement, directly impacting on planning and the conduct of operations.
What’s particularly impressive about MEWSIC to the next level is EWC2 – Electromagnetic Warfare Command and Control.
It automatically fuses all the received electromagnetic emissions with the tactical picture to give the team in the ops room vastly increased situational awareness, helping them better understand the operational environment and deliver the right countermeasures at the right time to the right place.
Which is where the human factor comes in.
Supported by experts and engineers from Babcock and Elbit Systems UK, over three weeks of trials the EW operators were able to experience the system with a synthetic scenario running in the background – similar to how they’d operate in a tactical environment at sea.
Trials staff were on hand to document and assess the system’s usability, the provision of enhanced situational awareness, the reduction in workload and any potential areas which could result in human error.
“Being able to take part in the MEWSIC trials was an informative experience giving us the opportunity to directly help shape future equipment used by the EW branch,” said Able Seaman (EW) Harry Triffitt from HMS Richmond.
“The staff working on the project were very accommodating and helpful when it came to explaining the new system. Any feedback we provided as subject matter experts was taken into consideration.”
This was Harry’s first experience of getting to grips with MEWSIC – and he was impressed. For those of you in the EW realm, he says “the only way I can describe it is RESM [Radar Electronic Support Measures] on steroids… The system is fluid and allows liaison between the Electronic Warfare Director and Operator effortlessly.”