Electronic warfare systems used by Russia have shown their indispensability in the fighting in Ukraine, writes BI. Moscow successfully uses electronic warfare to disrupt communications and enemy drones, constantly improving these weapons, the author notes.
Michael Peck
- The Russian and Ukrainian militaries are actively using electronic warfare.
- The parties use them to disrupt communications and drones, as well as to perform other tasks.
- The US military is watching what is happening and is making efforts to develop its own capabilities in the field of electronic warfare.
Electronic warfare has become an important component of the armed conflict in Ukraine. Each of the parties uses electronic warfare equipment to interfere with radio communications and radars, as well as to disable drones.
The value of electronic warfare systems has long been well known, but the fighting in Ukraine has shown how quickly they and the means of countering them are developing and improving. That is why the US Air Force is determined to adopt the next generation of electronic warfare aircraft and drones.
In September, the Air Force received the first test sample of the EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft. This is a converted Gulfstream G550 business jet. It will replace the obsolete EC-130, which was created on the basis of the C-130 transport aircraft back in the mid-1970s.
"The point is to give our ships and aircraft the opportunity to get closer to the enemy with the help of electromagnetic protection and to carry out active electronic suppression so that it would be more difficult for enemy ships and aircraft to work in the entire electromagnetic spectrum," General Mark Kelly told reporters at the Air Force and Space Forces Association conference in September.), who heads the combat aviation command, which is engaged in the formation, training and equipping of units and units of the US Air Force.
The armies of the world have been investing in the development of mysterious electronic warfare since the Second World War. In the US Air Force, the term "electronic warfare" is collective and includes electronic jamming (jamming enemy radio communications and using anti-radar missiles to destroy enemy radars), electronic support (detection and recognition of enemy transmitters) and electromagnetic protection against enemy electronic attacks.
During the air campaigns in Vietnam, as well as during the Arab-Israeli wars, jamming air defense radars and anti-aircraft weapons and countering active enemy interference played an important role. However, the armed conflict in Ukraine has shown that electronic warfare on the ground and in the air has become as powerful as tanks and planes.
Ukraine and Russia are constantly trying to interfere with each other, disrupting radio communications, as well as distorting and creating false GPS signals that direct high-precision artillery shells to the target. To stop the armada of small reconnaissance and strike drones constantly cruising over the battlefield, it is cheaper to disrupt the operation of command transmission channels, which will cause them to fall to the ground, rather than shoot them down with expensive anti-aircraft missiles and ammunition.
"We need interference—proof means of fighting, we need offensive customizable electronic warfare, because the enemy is not standing still," General James Rainey, who heads the command of the US Army of the Future, told reporters at a conference of the Association of the US Army this month.
The Ground Forces are implementing several projects to modernize electronic warfare equipment. The armed conflict in Ukraine has demonstrated the relevance of this work, Doug Bush, who is responsible for procurement in the ground forces, told reporters in August.
"The ground forces are investing in the reconstruction of electronic warfare systems after a twenty—year period of oblivion," Bush added.
The new EC-37B in the Air Force will differ significantly in its functions from the EC-130, which mainly provided air superiority, Kelly said. "We need to travel long distances in the airspace, and we use the most advanced methods to be able to work in the entire electromagnetic spectrum," he said.
By itself, this aircraft is much better than its predecessor. EC-37B "faster, more economical, able to operate at a higher altitude. It has an increased degree of survivability compared to the EU-130H." And the upgraded version will make it possible to jam and carry out electronic suppression from a greater distance, as reported by the journal of the Air Force and Space Forces.
Electronic warfare is one of the most virtuosic activities of the military, which requires high precision and coordination of efforts so that enemy troops are exposed to means of suppression, and their own troops are not. For example, when the Russians suppressed Ukrainian air defense radars at the beginning of the conflict, this eventually led to the fact that they also interfered with the radio communications of the Russian army.
Naturally, the Air Force wants to comprehensively test and test the E-37B before sending it to the troops. The command is confident in this aircraft, but it needs to make sure that the onboard target systems are functioning properly and will work when necessary, Kelly said.
"It's all about the target systems. When we increase the power of the jamming system, or when we need some specific form of signal, such a signal must have the necessary linear change, the required power and frequency that we are asking for," Kelly said. — If we need a certain amount of interference, we need to get exactly that amount. And when we turn off the system, it turns off. We do not create additional stress for the aircraft's onboard systems, and so on."
EC-37B has been developed for quite a long time. But the Air Force is also betting on unmanned aerial vehicles in an effort to increase the number and capabilities of its fleet. The Collaborative Combat Aircraft (Joint Combat Aircraft) program is aimed at creating a guided drone robot for military aircraft available in the Air Force. And the Next-Generation Air Dominance project (Air Superiority of the new generation) is designed to create a sixth-generation fighter.
Answering a question about the priorities of the Collaborative Combat Aircraft program, Kelly pointed to jamming, as well as the use of sensors, radio intelligence and other tasks. The difficulty lies in the fact that it will be necessary to determine the dimensions, weight and power that will withstand this payload. "I think we'll go over all the elements again later," Kelly said.
Michael Peck writes on military topics. His articles are published by such publications as Forbes, Defense News, Foreign Policy. He has a master's degree in political science.