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1 1 (September 29, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govehmz0001 and id is 1 raw text is: congressional Re rch $ervice IflfoiminQ the Ieai~Iati ~ debate sinc>*~ fl14 Defense Primer: Electronic War Electronic warfare (EW), as defined by the Department of Defense (DOD), are military activities that use electromagnetic energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum(the spectrum) and attack an enemy. The spectrumis a range of frequencies for electromagnetic energy. EW supports command and control(C2) by allowing military commanders' access to the spectrumto communicate with forces, while preventing potential advers aries fromacces sing the spectrumto develop an operationalpicture and communicate with their forces. Some have argued thatEW is a component of anti- access/areadenial(A2/AD) campaigns. Role of EW in Military Operations Since the introduction oftwo-way radios, militaries have become dependent on the spectrum. This reliance has expanded over the past century to include nearly every weapon system. Applications include radio frequencies to communicate with friendly forces; microwaves for tactical data-links, radars, and satellite communications; infrared for intelligence and to target enemies; and lasers across the entire spectrumto communicate, transmit data, and potentially destroy a target. Modern militaries rely on communications equipment that uses broadportions of the spectrumto conduct military operations. This allows forces to talk, transmit data, provide navigation and timing information, and to command and controlforces alloverthe world. They alsorely on this to know where adversaries are, what adversaries are doing, where friendly forces are, and what effects weapons achieve. As a result, modern militaries attempt to dominate the spectrumthrough electronic warfare. Fromthe perspective of military operations, there are threebroad divisions of electronic warfare Updated September 29, 2021 rare Hectronic protection involves actions to protect access to the s pectrumfor friendly military assets. Hectronic attack uses electromagnetic energy to degrade or deny an enemy's use ofthe spectrum. EW support identifies and catalogues emissions of friendly or enemy forces to either protect U.S. forces or develop a plan to deny an enemy's access to the spectrum. These subsets of EW often mutually supporteach other in operations. EW support uses equipment to assess both friendly and adversary electronic emis sions. This information can thenbe usedto develop aprotectionplan to maintain access to the spectrumor an attackplan to deny advers aries vital access. Radarjamming (electronic attack) can serve aprotectionfunctionforfriendly forces to penetrate defended airspace, and it prevents an adversary fromhaving a complete operating picture. In general, the more advanced a military adversary, the greaterrole EW plays in combat. Types of EW Capabilities As electronic warfare affects all military domains-land, air, sea, space, and cyberspace-each of the military services has its own EW capabilities and programs. EW capabilities are traditionally categorized into two distinct categories: terrestrial and airborne. Because eachkind of EW has its respective advantages anddisadvantages, multiple capabilities may be required to provide a desired effect. For example, airborne EW is used to intercept, decrypt, and disrupt communications, radars, and other C2 systems over a large area. However, these capabilities may be limited by aircraft endurance and are therefore unable to provide certain EW effects. Examples of airborne EW programs include the E-2 Hawkeye, the EA-18G Growler, the RC-135 Rivet Joint, and the EC-130H Compass Call. Figure I. How EWAffectsthe Spectrum Source: https://cyberdefense.com/spectrum-warfare. https://crsreports.congress.gov 0

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