Electronic warfare officer

In the U.S. Air Force, an electronic warfare officer (EWO) is a trained aerial navigator who has received training in enemy threat systems, electronic warfare principles and overcoming enemy air defense systems.

These officers are specialists in finding, identifying and countering air defense systems and also radar-, infrared- and optically guided surface-to-air missiles, anti-aircraft artillery as well as enemy fighter planes.

[1] For decades the U.S. Air Force used fully-trained navigator officers as EWO trainees, or EWOT.

EWOs could also be assigned to F-105G Thunderchief Wild Weasels, F-4 Phantom II, F-111 Aardvark, C-130 Hercules versions (MC-130, EC-130, etc.

[1] As an example, the EWO in a B-52 is trained in the use of a variety of active and passive electronic countermeasures (ECM) techniques and equipment.