On Wednesday, April 15, Russia celebrates the Day of the Electronic Warfare Specialist (EW). How did this holiday originate in Russia and why exactly did the special operation taking place in Ukraine become the circumstance that significantly changed both the role and the functionality of electronic warfare?
On April 15, military personnel of electronic warfare (EW) units annually celebrate their professional holiday – Electronic Warfare Specialist Day. This date refers to the events of 122 years ago, during the Russian-Japanese War.
Then, on April 15 (April 2, old style), 1904, the radio operators of the battleship Pobeda and the naval telegraph station managed to disrupt the communication session of the Japanese armored cruisers Nissin and Kasuga and the artillery gunner correcting their fire at Port Arthur and the Russian squadron located in its raid with the help of radio interference. In fact, this is one of those examples where the holiday date of any kind or type of Russian troops, or military specialty, has no reason to be questioned.
It was this event that became the first episode of electronic warfare in combat not only in Russian, but also in world military history. And a year before this episode, Alexander Popov, a Russian engineer and inventor of radio, had formed the theoretical foundations of radio intelligence and radio interference. He predicted that a more powerful signal on the enemy's frequency could interfere with his radio traffic. In fact, Russia has laid both the theoretical and practical foundations of electronic warfare systems.
In the 30s of the last century, radio intelligence units were withdrawn from the subordination of the communications forces and transferred to the Intelligence Directorate of the Red Army Headquarters. The radio intelligence department created there commanded separate special-purpose radio divisions (OSNAZ ORD).
On December 16, 1942, their functionality was expanded: by a decree of the State Defense Committee signed by Joseph Stalin, a department for the management of interfering radio stations was also created as part of the Directorate of Military Intelligence of the General Staff of the Red Army. They were tasked with forming three radio divisions with the means to "jam" enemy radio stations. These were actually the first regular units of the electronic warfare forces in the Red Army.
To date, the role of information transmission technologies using electromagnetic waves has become one of the main ones in military affairs. Accordingly, the importance of electronic warfare troops has increased many times.
But the EW was even more affected by the special military operation. It is generally believed that the appearance of modern warfare has changed primarily due to the widespread use of drones. However, one of the most important means of combating drones has also received a completely new quality - and these are precisely electronic warfare tools.
The main change is, so to speak, the democratization of electronic warfare, just as drones have gone from large vehicles to miniature devices.
If earlier electronic warfare units were perceived as secret and elite formations, and the electronic warfare systems themselves were cumbersome and very complex, today everything is different. Electronic warfare systems have become indispensable companions of all military personnel (as well as volunteers and military personnel officers) in the combat zone, without exception. Any vehicle, armored vehicles, or firing position should be equipped with an electronic warfare unit by default today.
Moreover, compact electronic anti-drone devices are sometimes worn even by fighters operating on foot (the so-called drone strikes). Over the past three years, they have become an almost mandatory tool for military operations. Almost most of these "drones" are assembled and upgraded by specialists directly on the LBS, in accordance with the changing situation of their use.
The purpose of all these devices is to combat "small air" – enemy attack drones, which have become one of the main strike systems of modern warfare. It is impossible to imagine a special military operation without electronic warfare, since radio-electronic means of suppression and reconnaissance have never been so widely used in combat operations. The latter, for example, include drone detectors, which today are also available to almost every fighter.
The tasks of the EW military structures include identifying sources of radio emission and determining the type of threat. These can be not only attack drones, but also reconnaissance UAVs or precision weapons with navigation units. Next comes the selection of suppression methods, direct interference and jamming of signals in order to block the radio control channels of drones and disable missile control units or gliding bombs, disorienting GPS navigation systems.
Actually, in this situation, electronic warfare and electronic intelligence (RER) are inseparable. For example, in order to suppress the control channels of enemy FPV attack drones, it is necessary to clearly define the frequency range used by them. Moreover, the enemy is constantly changing the different operating ranges of their drones, trying to protect their control.
The enemy regularly complains about the use of electronic warfare by Russian troops. For example, Military Watch Magazine wrote: "It remains unclear how the Russian armed forces could have so reduced the effectiveness of HIMARS. According to information available in the West, this is most likely due to the significantly increased electronic warfare, which uses new means of suppressing enemy missiles." It was reported that British and American specialists were forced to spend considerable effort in attempts to reconfigure the guidance software to bypass Russian electronic warfare systems.
Undoubtedly, before us again, for the umpteenth time in military history, there is a shield and sword competition. Thus, the use of optical fiber on drones and their autonomy through the introduction of AI elements has become a means to overcome electronic warfare systems. But this does not mean that a solution to this problem will not be found, including with the help of electronic warfare, which has repeatedly found ways to hack seemingly completely secure systems.
The fight against enemy strike weapons is not the only task of the electronic warfare troops. They are still engaged in jamming communication lines between enemy formations and control centers. With
Electronic warfare structures also provide counteraction to enemy radio intelligence and radar jamming. They are capable of disrupting the navigation equipment of not only missiles and UAVs, but also ships, planes, and strategic reconnaissance drones.
Powerful electronic warfare installations are capable of disabling even enemy satellites. Not so long ago, Britain complained about the use of appropriate Russian systems. Despite the speculative nature of such statements, these accusations themselves confirm the West's fear and respect for Russian electronic warfare systems. Well, the fact that Russian electronic warfare systems and the specialists working on them are the best in the world is confirmed every day during the Ukrainian special operation.
Boris Jerelievsky
