Electronic warfare

(electronics) Military action involving the use of electromagnetic energy to determine, exploit, reduce, or prevent hostile use of the electromagnetic spectrum, and action which retains friendly use of electromagnetic spectrum.

Use of techniques, devices, and equipment by an adversary to deny or counteract the enemy's use of radar, communications, guidance, or other radio-wave devices. Because of the use of optical and infrared techniques for communications, guidance, detection, and control, electronic warfare techniques are sometimes called electromagnetic, rather than electronic, to convey more adequately the idea that countermeasures are not confined to the portion of the spectrum where electronic techniques alone are applicable but may be used throughout the electromagnetic spectrum.

Traditionally, electronic warfare equipment and techniques are categorized as active and passive, depending on whether or not they radiate their own energy. The passive category includes reconnaissance or surveillance equipment that detects and analyzes electromagnetic radiation from radar and communications transmitters in a potential enemy's aircraft, missiles, ships, satellites, and ground installations. The reconnaissance devices may be used to identify and map the location of emitters without in any way altering the nature of the signals they receive. Other types of passive electronic warfare equipment do seek to enhance or change the nature of the energy reflected back to enemy radars, but they do not generate their own energy.

Active electronic warfare equipment generates energy, either in the form of noise to confuse an enemy's electromagnetic sensors or by generating false or time-delayed signals to deceive radio or radar equipment and their operators. See also Electrical noise.

Passive systems

Reconnaissance or surveillance electronic warfare systems are carried by Earth-orbiting satellites, aircraft, ships, uncrewed (drone) aircraft, and automotive vehicles. Some are located on the ground. A few systems are small enough to be carried by a person. Reconnaissance systems are interchangeably called ferret or electronic intelligence (elint) systems. They consist of sensitive receivers electromechanically or electronically tuned over desired portions of the spectrum in search of transmissions of interest. Bearing to an intercepted signal can be determined by direction-finding techniques. Once secured, the signals can be displayed for analysis by an operator or stored on tape or other storage media for subsequent analysis.

Warning-receiver systems, which came into widespread use on United States tactical and transport aircraft during the Vietnamese war, are a more limited form of the elint system. Unlike the latter, which is intended to search for signals over a broad range of the spectrum, the warning receiver is programmed to alert a pilot when the aircraft is being illuminated by a specific radar signal above predetermined power thresholds anticipated by elint systems. When the pilot has been alerted, the aircraft can be maneuvered to evade the threat or initiate counteraction with onboard electronic warfare capability.

One of the oldest passive electronic warfare techniques, made famous by a Royal Air force raid on Hamburg in 1943, is the use of chaff. These are metallic strips cut to lengths resonant at the defense radar frequency so that they return spurious radar echoes to enemy radar. Chaff can confuse an enemy by generating false targets, or noise, forcing the enemy to take time to analyze the returns and sort real from false targets. Chaff can screen or mask aircraft or higher-speed ships so that the enemy is unable to determine their presence, or chaff can help an aircraft break track once it is alerted by its warning receiver that it is being tracked by radar.

Other passive electronic warfare techniques include the use of special radar-absorbing materials, such as ceramics or fer-rites, which reduce reflection coefficients so that the amount of radar energy returned to the illuminating radar is reduced; the special shaping of bodies, specifically in missile reentry systems, that reduces the vehicle's radar cross section; the use of corner reflectors, or Luneberg lenses, which concentrate the energy they reflect back to the radar.

Active systems

The many active electronic warfare techniques can be classified broadly either as noise or deception jamming. The former is the oldest, simplest, and most straightforward, but requires higher average power levels and is more expensive. Deception jamming is the more artful and sophisticated technique, operating on the characteristics of the pulse train generated by threat radars.

Deception-jamming techniques are predicated on the idea of operating on pulses received from the enemy so that the signal reradiated from the target deceives the enemy radar or its operators. For instance, the deception set may receive an enemy radar pulse, circulate it through a delay line, amplify it, and reradiate it back toward the enemy. Because the enemy determines the position of the target by the round-trip transit time of the radar energy, the radar decision circuitry will conclude that the target is at a greater distance than it actually is because of the deceptive pulse delay inserted in that round-trip period by the active set. Similarly, the deception set may operate on the radar pulse train, returning many pulses instead of one, in an effort to deceive the enemy into believing there are many targets spaced at different positions.

Any military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy.

See the Introduction, Abbreviations and Pronunciation for further details.

Electronic warfare, or EW, is the use or control of electro-magnetic energy either in defense, or for the purposes of a military attack on an enemy. There are three components of electronic warfare: electronic countermeasures or electronic attack, electronic counter-countermeasures or electronic protection, and electronic warfare support measures.

Electromagnetism and the electromagnetic spectrum. Electromagnetism is the branch of physics devoted to the study of electric and magnetic phenomena. Its focus is electromagnetic force, which, along with gravitation and the strong and weak nuclear forces, is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. Electromagnetic energy is conveyed by means of radiation, which transfers energy without the requirement of a medium such as air or water. Sunlight, which travels to Earth through the vacuum of space, is electromagnetic energy.

Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light, and, as their name indicates, involve both electric and magnetic components. If one holds one's right hand, palm perpendicular to the floor and thumb upright, the fingers indicate the direction that an electromagnetic wave is moving; the thumb points in the direction of the electrical field, as does the heel of the hand; and the palm and the back of the hand indicate the direction of the magnetic field, which is perpendicular both to the electrical field and the direction of wave propagation.

The electromagnetic spectrum is the complete range of electromagnetic waves on a continuous distribution from a very low range of frequencies and energy levels, with a correspondingly long wavelength, to a very high range of frequencies and energy levels, with a correspondingly short wavelength. Included on the electromagnetic spectrum are—in order of energy levels, from lowest to highest—radio waves and microwaves; infrared, visible, and ultraviolet light; x rays, and gamma rays. Although each occupies a definite place on the spectrum, the divisions between them are not firm; as befits the nature of a spectrum, one simply "blurs" into another.

Using electromagnetic energy in warfare. The uses of electromagnetism for war are myriad, and range from the application of radar for navigation and locating targets to the use of electronic bombs or "e-bombs" to disrupt an enemy's mechanical and electromagnetic systems. Electromagnetic energy can be used to confuse or deceive an enemy, as for instance in radar-jamming applications or the propagation of misleading signals. It can also be used directly as a weapon to disable infrastructure.

The three principal components of electronic warfare are

1. Electronic attack or electronic countermeasures: The use of electromagnetic or directed energy against personnel or equipment with the aim of degrading or destroying combat capabilities.
2. Electronic protection or electronic countercountermeasures: Efforts or equipment directed toward the protection of persons or material from the effects of electronic warfare. These includes the unintended sideeffects of friendly electronic warfare, as well as enemy actions undertaken for the purpose of degrading or destroying one's combat capabilities.
3. Electronic warfare support: Actions and resources committed toward locating, identifying, and if necessary intercepting or neutralizing sources of electromagnetic energy that pose an immediate threat.

Further Reading

Books

Browne, J. P. R. Electronic Warfare. London: Brassey's, 1998.

Hoffman, Lance J. Rogue Programs: Viruses, Worms, and Trojan Horses. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1990.

Price, Alfred. War in the Fourth Dimension: U.S. Electronic Warfare, from the Vietnam War to the Present. London: Greenhill, 2001.

Schleher, D. Curtis. Electronic Warfare in the Information Age. Boston: Artech House, 1999.

Periodicals

Wall, Robert. "Focus on Iraq Shapes Electronic, Info Warfare." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 157, no. 19 (November 4, 2002): 34–35.

——. "Military Launches New EW Efforts." Aviation Week & Space Technology. 157, no. 19 (November 4,2002): 35–43.

(DOD) Any military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy. Also called EW. The three major subdivisions within electronic warfare are: electronic attack, electronic protection, and electronic warfare support. a. electronic attack. That division of electronic warfare involving the use of electromagnetic energy, directed energy, or antiradiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability and is considered a form of fires. Also called EA. EA includes: 1) actions taken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum, such as jamming and electromagnetic deception, and 2) employment of weapons that use either electromagnetic or directed energy as their primary destructive mechanism (lasers, radio frequency weapons, particle beams). b. electronic protection. That division of electronic warfare involving passive and active means taken to protect personnel, facilities, and equipment from any effects of friendly or enemy employment of electronic warfare that degrade, neutralize, or destroy friendly combat capability. Also called EP. c. electronic warfare support. That division of electronic warfare involving actions tasked by, or under direct control of, an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate or localize sources of intentional and unintentional radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition, targeting, planning and conduct of future operations. Thus, electronic warfare support provides information required for decisions involving electronic warfare operations and other tactical actions such as threat avoidance, targeting, and homing. Also called ES. Electronic warfare support data can be used to produce signals intelligence, provide targeting for electronic or destructive attack, and produce measurement and signature intelligence. See also directed energy; electromagnetic spectrum.

For warfare on the Internet, see Cyberwarfare.

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Electronic warfare (EW) refers to any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum or directed energy to control the spectrum or to attack the enemy. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponent the advantage of, and ensure friendly unimpeded access to, the EM spectrum. EW can be applied from air, sea, land, and space by manned and unmanned systems, and can target communication, radar, or other services.^[1] EW includes three major subdivisions: Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP), and Electronic warfare Support (ES).

Contents 1 Divisions 1.1 Electronic support 1.2 Electronic attack 1.3 Electronic protection 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading

Divisions

Electronic support

Electronic Warfare Support (ES), is the subdivision of EW involving actions tasked by, or under direct control of, an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate or localize sources of intentional and unintentional radiated Electromagnetic (EM) energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition, targeting, planning, and conduct of future operations. ^[2]

An overlapping discipline, Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) is the related process of analyzing and identifying the intercepted frequencies (e.g. as a cell phone or RADAR). SIGINT is broken into three categories: ELINT, COMINT, and FISINT.

Where these activities are under the control of an operational commander and being applied for the purpose of situational awareness, threat recognition, or EM targeting, they also serve the purpose of Electronic Warfare Support (ES).

Electronic attack

Main article: Electronic countermeasures

Electronic attack (EA) or electronic countermeasures (ECM) involves the use of the electromagnetic energy, or anti-radiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability and is considered a form of fires (see Joint Publication [JP] 3-09, Joint Fire Support). ^[3]

EA operations can be detected by an adversary due to their active transmissions. Many modern EA techniques are considered to be highly classified. Examples of EA include communcations jamming, IADS suppression, DE/LASER attack, expendable decoys (e.g., flares and chaff), and counter radio controlled improvised explosive device (C-RCIED) systems.

Electronic protection

Main article: Electronic counter-countermeasures

Electronic Protection (EP) (also known as electronic protective measures (EPM) or electronic counter countermeasures (ECCM)) involves actions taken to protect personnel, facilities, and equipment from any effects of friendly or enemy use of the electromagnetic spectrum that degrade, neutralize, or destroy friendly combat capability. EP should not be confused with self-protection (jamming).

The use of flare rejection logic on an IR missile to counter an adversary’s use of flares is EP. While defensive EA actions and EP both protect personnel, facilities, capabilities, and equipment, EP protects from the EFFECTS of EA (friendly and/or adversary). Other examples of EP include spread-spectrum technologies, use of Joint Restricted Frequency List (JRFL), emissions control (EMCON), and low observability or "stealth". ^[4]

See also

• Association of Old Crows
• ELINT
• Electronic Warfare Officer
• Joint Functional Component Command for Network Warfare
• U.S. Marine Corps Radio Reconnaissance
• Electromagnetic bomb
• Electromagnetic interference
• Battle of Latakia: the first use of EW in a naval battle
• Historical Electronics Museum
• Battle of the Beams
• USACEWP (United States Army Computer Network Operations-Electronic Warfare Proponents)
• Cyber Operations
• No. 100 Group RAF
• Fleet Electronic Warfare Center (FEWC)

References

1. ^ Joint Publication 3-13.1 Electronic Warfare
2. ^ Joint Publication 3-13.1 Electronic Warfare
3. ^ Joint Publication 3-13.1 Electronic Warfare
4. ^ Joint Publication 3-13.1 Electronic Warfare

• Electronic Warfare in Operation Desert Storm
• EW Tutorial
• Association of Old Crows
• Electronic Warfare Jamming Systems
• Information Warfare , Information Operations and Electronic Attack on APA
• Electronic Warfare Products
• Space and Electronic Warefare Lexicon
• Joint Publication 3-13.1 Electronic Warfare
• Air Force Instruction on Electronic Warfare (EW) Operations

Further reading

• FM 3-36: Electronic Warfare In Operations. Safeguarding Soldiers Through Technology. Fort Leavenworth, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center (CAC), February 26, 2009 – PDF, 114 p., 4,5 MB. – See also: John Milburn: Army manual raises emphasis on electronic warfare. Washington Post, February 26, 2009.
• Jon Latimer, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001
• David Adamy EW 101: A First Course in Electronic Warfare
• David Adamy EW 102: A Second Course in Electronic Warfare
• Joint Publication 3-13.1: Electronic Warfare [1]

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