NAVAL AIR WARFARE CENTER WEAPONS DIVISION POINT MUGU, Calif. — Lynne Clarke, Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) engineer, received one of the Navy’s highest honors, a Dr. Delores M. Etter award, at the Pentagon June 12 for her research and development in the field of electronic warfare.
“How can we make our [systems] more agile? How can we bring the Department of Defense into the 21st century?” Clarke said. “A lot of people in the military put their lives on the line for us every day. Progressing electronic warfare is my opportunity to support and serve them.”
Clarke, chief engineer for the Joint Electronic Attack and Compatibility Office at Point Mugu, was recognized for her role in the creation of the Electronic Warfare Services Architecture (EWSA), as well as in the design, development, integration, training and deployment of the Intrepid Tiger II, a precision electronic warfare communication jammer pod that can be reprogrammed remotely mid-flight.
“She is relentless in pursuing her work,” Associate Director Toufue Chang said after nominating Clarke. “I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving than Clarke for her inception of the EWSA.”
EWSA was created in response to the Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s (MAGTF) need for increased electronic warfare capabilities. Standard development and integration timelines could not meet the urgent need, so Clarke championed the creation of a flexible, open-source architecture.
The new architecture makes it possible to repurpose a system in 12-18 months, rather than 3-4 years, Chang said. The Intrepid Tiger II, for example, can be reprogrammed remotely, even during flight.
Clarke, managing a team of 54 electronic warfare experts, wanted to address the issue of long development lead times, which directly resulted in new systems often being obsolete before they were operational.
“Clarke successfully proved, particularly to the U.S. Marine Corps, that this could and would work,” Chang stated. “I can say, without a doubt, there were a lot of barriers and brick walls in getting this groundbreaking project through, and she successfully worked through them.”
EWSA’s open-source design allows the system to be highly adaptable to multiple platforms and uses, minimizing the interoperability concerns that often arise when multiple entities or services work together on a project or mission. However, convincing users it was a safe, workable design was difficult, Chang said.
Clarke’s experience convincing users to adopt her designs stretches beyond the public sector. She first joined the team at NAWCWD Point Mugu in 1987 as a laboratory support engineer and took an eight year hiatus to work in the civilian sector during the 1990s.
“I came back into the government to really make a difference from within,” Clarke explained. “NAWCWD is the place to help shape the direction of where things go.”
“You hear it from Navy leadership. We just do not have the money to continue to develop new platforms,” Chang added. “We have to get smarter about using what we already have in new ways. That’s what Clarke has championed. That’s why she’s one of the best.”
The Dr. Delores M. Etter Top Scientists and Engineers of the Year Award was established in 2006 and named after former assistant secretary of the Navy Dr. Delores M. Etter. It recognizes Navy and Marine Corps civilian and military personnel whose scientific and engineering achievements significantly impact their fields and the fleet. This year, 46 people were honored, representing the very best of the nearly 36,000 professionals in the Department of the Navy’s engineering and science community.
For Clarke, just being nominated was a huge surprise, let alone being selected as a winner.
“It knocked the feet out from under me,” Clarke said. “It was a surprise and honor just to have leadership nominate me.”
For more information, contact NAWCWD Public Affairs at (760) 939-3511.