EO 9 Flashcards
Electronic Warfare (EW)
Ensure the effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum to friendly forces while denying its use to the enemy.
What are the 3 methods, or divisions, of EW?
Electronic Attack (EA), Electronic Protection (EP), Electronic Support (ES)
Electronic Attack (EA)
involves the use of EM-directed energy, or anti-radiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of deceiving, disrupting, denying, or destroying an adversary’s combat capability.
Electronic Protection (EP)
Actions taken to attempt to retain use of its electromagnetic equipment, despite the attacking force’s use of EW
Electronic Support (ES)
The actions taken to search for, detect, localize, and identify sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for tactical purposes
EA includes attacks on all types of enemy radars and communications such as;
Jamming, Chaff, Anti-Radiation weapons, and high power radiation.
Jamming
Involves the transmission of undesired signals into enemy recievers with power levels and modulations such that the ability of the receiver to receive and process it’s desired signals is degraded.
What are the types of jamming targets?
Radar and Communications
Where can the jammer be located?
On the radar target or remote from target
What are the approaches of jamming?
Cover jamming and deceptive jamming
Cover Jamming
Reduces adversary radar’s ability to detect target
What type of noise modulated signals are used in both radar and communications jamming applications?
Cover Jamming signals
Deceptive Jamming
Adversary radar sees the return as good, but calculated range or angle is incorrect.
What 2 concepts deal with the effectiveness of jamming?
Jamming-to-Signal Ratio (J/S), Burn-Through Range
Self-Protection Jamming
Involves the transmission of jamming signals from an asset to protect itself from detection, tracking, or fusing by hostile radar.
Jamming-to-Signal Ratio (J/S)
The ratio between the receive power of the jammer and the desired signal in the target receiver.
Remote Jamming
Involves the transmission of jamming signals from some other location than that of the target of the hostile radar.
Burn-Through Range
The distance from the radar at which the radar can reacquire a target which has been protected by jamming.
Chaff
Refers to small metal pieces of aluminum foil or metalized fiberglass that are cut to lengths which allow them to optimally rebroadcast radar signals.
Flares
Expendable devices which protect aircraft from heat seeking missiles.
Anti-radiation weapons
Home in on signals transmitted from hostile emitters.
High Power Radiation
A technique that involves extremely high levels of transmitted power; three or more orders of magnitude greater than would be required to jam a reciever. (Can be either from lasers or RF transmitters)
What is the purpose of high power radiation?
To destroy a hosile platform or to destroy an enemy sensor.
Noise Jamming (Confusion Jamming)
Techniques are used to change the EM environment by transmitting large amounts of power (i.e. noise) within a portion of the spectrum.
What is the purpose of a confusion jammer?
To reduce the SNR in the receiver, so that actual target returns are lost in the increased noise floor.
Barrage Jamming
Jamming signal is spread over several frequencies
Spot Jamming
Is a technique in which electronic attack(EA) aircraft transmit a concentrated beam of RF energy on the same frequency as the radar is transmitting.
Spot jammers
Can use methods of frequency agility to compensate for the narrow coverage they provide.
Multiple Spot Jamming
Uses multiple jammers simultaneously, each on a different frequency
Sequential Spot Jamming
Uses varying frequencies, rapidly jumping from on RF to another in a programmed manner
Swept Spot Jamming
Tunes the center frequency of a spot jamming signal to “sweep” over a specified bandwidth.
What is the goal of deception jamming?
To cause the victim to lose track of real targets and waste time, processing, and weapons on false targets.
Why are deception jammers called “repeater jammers”?
The systems retransmit or repeat the victim radar’s signal.
What are the types of deception jamming?
Range, velocity, and angle
What is the purpose of Electronic Support (ES)?
To acquire the information about hostile signals necessary to enable the other EW fields to be effective.
How are ELINT processes different than ES processes?
The purpose of ELINT is to determine enemy capabilities (i.e. future threats); while ES is used tactically and thus time critical.
List missions for Electronic Support (ES).
Situational Awareness, Radar Warning, Specific Emitter Identification (SEI)
Situational Awareness
Perception of the surrounding environment, and the ability to anticipate future events.
Radar Warning Receiver (RWR)
Recieving systems that intercept and analyze hostile radar emissions to determine the type and location of enemy radar controlled weapons that potentially threaten protected assets.
Specific Emitter Identification (SEI)
Determines not just the type of emitter, but also the specific enemy asset it is attached to. (i.e. shipboard enemy radar)
Quiet Range
The difference between the radar detection range and the ES reciever range.
How does EP differ from EA and ES processes?
Does not include subsystems; spectrum of design features of radars and communication systems. (Reduce the effectiveness of jamming)
EP techniques are divided into what two categories?
Preventive & remedial
What do EP techniques involve?
Special modulations, antenna design features, phase shifted replicas of jamming signals (cancellation of jamming), special operating modes
Decoys
Devices designed to look like targets to enemy sensors
What are the 3 missions of decoys?
Seduction, saturation, and detection
Aerosols
Tiny solid particles or liquid droplets that remain suspended in the atmosphere for a long time
Aerosol Clouds
Provide a good reflective surface, bouncing signals back to the victim radar and appearing as strong target returns.
