CRANE, Ind. –
Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) hosted a biennial North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military exercise in May and June at Indiana testing sites Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center.
The 2024 Thor’s Hammer NATO exercise is an electronic warfare (EW) event testing compatibility and effectiveness of Counter-Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Devices (C-RCIED) and Counter-Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (C-sUAS). This is the first time the United States has hosted Thor’s Hammer, which began in 2015 and has been held in Norway, Sweden, and Australia.
Michael Alperi, Deputy Program Manager of Expeditionary Missions Program Office (PMS 408), Program Executive Office, Unmanned and Small Combatants, and Chairman of NATO Subgroup One, announced in 2022 that the United States would host Thor’s Hammer in 2024. When it came to selecting a location within the United States, he knew where it should be held.
“One of the best aspects about picking NSWC Crane is that they have worked on their test infrastructure over the years,” said Alperi. “Camp Atterbury, and specifically Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, provide the first opportunity for countries to test in an urban environment. This is the most realistic test we’ve ever done since starting the event in 2015. This application of testing allows us to really understand how our systems work in real operational battle.”
The two main testing sites for Thor’s Hammer 2024 were Camp Atterbury and Muscatatuck Urban Training Center. Camp Atterbury supported test events to improve effectiveness and compatibility against small UAS and IED threats. Muscatatuck Urban Training Center provided simultaneous UAS and IED testing in an urban environment that enhanced collaboration among partner nations and a better understanding of how to optimize employment of diverse electronic countermeasures (ECM) systems.
Thomas Talbert, an NSWC Crane employee, was the Trial Manager for 2024 Thor’s Hammer. He said the event enabled collaboration.
“Thor’s Hammer presents the opportunity to understand how systems will behave when operating together,” said Talbert. “The understanding gained concerning the compatibility and interoperability of the multiple nations’ systems has saved lives and will continue to save lives into the future. The ability to collaborate with other engineers, scientists, and operators allows for the improvement of each countries’ ECM systems performance.”
Thor’s Hammer systems were tested alongside each other to identify collaborative opportunities to improve performance of systems in coalition environments. This is particularly important in an environment of multinational operations faced with the evolving and persistent threat to life from UASs and IEDs. In a battlefield increasingly more defined by electronic warfare, ECM de-confliction has become an essential pre-deployment activity.
Since the inception of Thor’s Hammer in 2015, the event has grown from five participating nations to 14 in 2024. The U.S. was able to host more than 200 U.S. and foreign personnel with the support of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), U.S. Army, NSWC Crane, Indiana National Guard, and the State of Indiana.
“Indiana has been a fantastic partner for this event. The support we’ve received from the State of Indiana, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, the Applied Research Institute Inc., and the National Guard has been incredible to help execute,” said Alperi. “All aspects of Indiana have been behind this event. A key event during TH24 was a scheduled VIP Day conducted at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center where 87 military and government senior officials from the participating nations attended this event. VIP Day highlighted the importance and mutual benefit of collaboration and how to apply data from standard testing at Camp Atterbury into an urban environment. Demonstrations were provided on the importance of ECM, Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) and the interoperability of systems. I’m sure the Thor’s Hammer Group will want to come back to Indiana again to conduct this type of testing in the near future.”
“It is great to be able to host such a significant event in Indiana,” said Dr. Angela Lewis, SES, the Technical Director at NSWC Crane. “We can’t do it alone—it takes the NATO partners together to counter current threats. Thor’s Hammer 2024 provided real-world testing environments, enhanced warfighter capability and enabled improvement in warfighter safety.”
With each Thor’s Hammer, the group pushes the limits of testing to keep pace with evolving threats.
“Thor’s Hammer allows the participating nations to test in an environment that is not available in their home country, test against different devices, and collaborate in an atmosphere that occurs when personnel understand and trust each other’s skills and abilities,” said Talbert.
Intensive ongoing collaboration among the Thor’s Hammer participants has yielded critical changes to operational aspects that will further protect deployed forces. Lyndon Theodore “LT" Snider, TH24 Focal Point Lead, emphasizes that while the event bolsters security cooperation with our partners, these efforts are intended to keep the warfighters safe.
"In a time when the criticality of international military cooperation cannot be overstated, Thor's Hammer 2024 brought participating nations together to sharpen coalition capabilities in ground electronic warfare,” said Snider. “The event exemplified the cooperative spirit of partner nations who share the common goal of ensuring success on the battlefield and the survivability of troops and equipment."
About NSWC Crane | NSWC Crane is a naval laboratory and a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) with mission areas in Expeditionary Warfare, Strategic Missions and Electromagnetic Warfare. The warfare center is responsible for multi-domain, multi- spectral, full life cycle support of technologies and systems enhancing capability to today's Warfighter.
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