Electronic warfare

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, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults via the spectrum. 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. EW includes three major subdivisions: Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP), and Electronic warfare Support (ES).

The electromagnetic environment

Military operations are executed in an information environment increasingly complicated by the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum portion of the information environment is referred to as the electromagnetic environment (EME). The recognized need for military forces to have unimpeded access to and use of the electromagnetic environment creates vulnerabilities and opportunities for electronic warfare (EW) in support of military operations.

Within the information operations construct, EW is an element of information warfare; more specifically, it is an element of offensive and defensive counterinformation.

Electronic warfare applications

Electronic warfare is any military action involving the use of the EM spectrum to include directed energy (DE) to control the EM spectrum or to attack an enemy. This is not limited to radio or radar frequencies but includes IR, visible, ultraviolet, and other less used portions of the EM spectrum. This includes self-protection, standoff, and escort jamming, and antiradiation attacks. EW is a specialized tool that enhances many air and space functions at multiple levels of conflict.

The purpose of EW is to deny the opponent an advantage in the EM spectrum and ensure friendly unimpeded access to the EM spectrum portion of the information environment. EW can be applied from air, sea, land, and space by manned and unmanned systems. EW is employed to support military operations involving various levels of detection, denial, deception, disruption, degradation, protection, and destruction.

EW contributes to the success of information operations (IO) by using offensive and defensive tactics and techniques in a variety of combinations to shape, disrupt, and exploit adversarial use of the EM spectrum while protecting friendly freedom of action in that spectrum. Expanding reliance on the EM spectrum increases both the potential and the challenges of EW in information operations. All of the core, supporting, and related information operations capabilities either directly use EW or indirectly benefit from EW.

The principal EW activities have been developed over time to exploit the opportunities and vulnerabilities that are inherent in the physics of EM energy. Activities used in EW include: electro-optical, infrared and radio frequency countermeasures; EM compatibility and deception; EM hardening, interference, intrusion, and jamming; electronic masking, probing, reconnaissance, and intelligence; electronics security; EW reprogramming; emission control; spectrum management; and wartime reserve modes.

Subdivisions

RAF Menwith Hill, a large ECHELON site in the United Kingdom, and part of the UK-USA Security Agreement

Electronic warfare includes three major subdivisions: electronic attack (EA), electronic protection (EP), and electronic warfare support (ES).

Electronic attack involves the use of EM energy, directed energy, or antiradiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability.

Electronic protection 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.

Electronic warfare support 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 EM energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition, targeting, planning, and conduct of future operations. These measures begin with systems designed and operators trained to make Electronic Intercepts (ELINT) and then classification and analysis broadly known as Signals intelligence from such detections to return information and perhaps actionable intelligence (e.g. a ship's identification from unique characteristics of a specific radar) to the commander.

Electronic warfare support

Main article: Electronic warfare support measures

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.

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

The distinction between intelligence and electronic warfare support (ES) is determined by who tasks or controls the collection assets, what they are tasked to provide, and for what purpose they are tasked. Electronic warfare support is achieved by assets tasked or controlled by an operational commander. The purpose of ES tasking is immediate threat recognition, targeting, planning and conduct of future operations, and other tactical actions such as threat avoidance and homing. However, the same assets and resources that are tasked with ES can simultaneously collect intelligence that meets other collection requirements.

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 surveillance (ES).

Electronic attack

Main article: Electronic countermeasures

Electronic attack (EA) or electronic countermeasures (ECM) involves the use of electromagnetic energy, or counter-electromagnetic radiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intention of directly affecting, degrading, neutralizing, or destroying an enemy's combat capability (see Joint Publication [JP] 3-09, Joint Fire Support).

EA operations can be detected by an adversary depending on his level of technological sophistication and paranoia. Many modern EA techniques are considered to be highly classified. Examples of EA include communications jamming, IADS suppression, DE/LASER attack, expendable decoys (e.g., flares and chaff), and radio controlled improvised explosive device (RCIED) systems.

Electronic protection

A right front view of a USAF Boeing E-4 advanced airborne command post (AABNCP) on the electromagnetic pulse (EMP) simulator (HAGII-C) for testing.

Main article: Electronic counter-countermeasures

Electronic Protection (EP) (previously 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. Jamming is not part of EP, it is an EA measure.

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".

An Electronic Warfare Tactics Range (EWTR) is a practice range which provides for the training of aircrew in electronic warfare. There are two such ranges in Europe; one at RAF Spadeadam in the United Kingdom and the POLYGON range in Germany and France. EWTRs are equipped with ground-based equipment to simulate electronic warfare threats that aircrew might encounter on missions.

See also

• ELINT
• Electromagnetic pulse
• Electromagnetic interference
• Electronic harassment
• Electromagnetic weapon

Specific:

• Battle of Latakia: the first use of deception EW in a naval battle
• Battle of the Beams
• No. 100 Group RAF

US specific:

• Association of Old Crows
• Electronic Warfare Officer
• Fleet Electronic Warfare Center
• Joint Functional Component Command for Network Warfare
• U.S. Marine Corps Radio Reconnaissance
• Historical Electronics Museum
• USACEWP (United States Army Computer Network Operations-Electronic Warfare Proponents)
• Cyber 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

General references

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