Electronic Warfare: Effective Use of Spectrum Across Conflicts
History and Evolution
Electronic warfare (EW) has evolved significantly since its early beginnings in World War II. During the war, early radars were used to detect enemy aircraft and guide defensive fire, while allied forces also started employing basic forms of radar jamming to degrade enemy systems. In subsequent conflicts like the Cold War and Vietnam War, EW grew in sophistication as new radar, communication and electronic sensor technologies emerged on both military platforms and ground systems. Countries invested heavily in developing specialized EW aircraft, vehicles and other assets that could identify, locate, disrupt or deceive the enemy’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum.
By the 1990s, the proliferation of microelectronics and digital signal processing led to another leap forward. Electronic Warfare Advanced EW suites became standard on modern fighter jets and warfare ships, providing comprehensive electronic protection, signals intelligence, and electromagnetic attack capabilities. Space-based intelligence assets also augmented traditional ground and airborne EW platforms. This paradigm shift transformed EW into a core warfare domain on par with air, land, sea and space.
Modern Electronic Warfare Assets and Tactics
Today’s advanced militaries employ a diverse array of specialized EW assets ranging from manned and unmanned aircraft to ground and maritime vehicles. These systems deploy an extensive toolset for conducting electronic support, protection and attack missions across multiple frequency bands.
For example, specially configured E-3 Sentry, EA-18G Growler and other aircraft conduct deep sensing of enemy radar, communication signals and cyber emissions over vast areas. They can then program this electronic “order of battle” data into weapons like missiles, bombs and frequency jammers to autonomously attack specific threats. Dedicated EW tactical vehicles like the AN/MLQ-40 also provide real-time targeting, tracking and jamming of radio/radar signals on the move right alongside ground troops.
Moreover, distributed EW networks, consisting of many interconnected air, sea, space and ground nodes, help coordinate electromagnetic deception across entire joint battlespaces. Shipboard and land-based EW suites similarly work in concert to counter enemy targeting efforts over broad maritime and coastal regions. Such networked approaches allow EW assets to rapidly reconfigure jamming and cyber payloads based on evolving threats, maximizing disruption while minimizing own exposure.
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