31R3A1L2 OFFENSIVE AND DEFEENSIVE ELECTRONIC WARFARE Student Handout

Transcription

1 31R3A1L2 OFFENSIVE AND DEFEENSIVE ELECTRONIC WARFARE Student Handout a. Early Electronic Warfare (EW) was primarily a tool used to identify ships and military units. Codes and ciphers were developed, and the periodic changing of call signs and frequencies was made a part of everyday communications. The disrupting of communications (jamming) and the creation of deceptive communication practices became a very sophisticated and artful practice. b. World War I. During this period, EW was mostly limited to casual monitoring of radios and some attempts at wire-tapping. c. World War II. The period between the two world wars saw dramatic breakthroughs in the development of radios. The use of radios in the military became commonplace. Radios were found as far down as battalion level. (1) By the end of World War II, radios could be found at company level. (2) The use of deception became an integral part of planning. (3) Code breaking was another major effort in this period. (4) The development of radio detection and ranging (radar) affected the outcome of World War II. c. Korean War. During the Korean Conflict, EW was used by both United Nations (UN) and North Korean forces. (1) Both sides intercepted and analyzed radio signals. (2) The Chinese used radio silence during their move into Korea in d. Vietnam. Both sides used EW in Vietnam. Electronic Security (ELSEC) and deception became an integral part of U.S. battle planning. (1) In North Vietnam, Chinese and Vietnamese air defense units caused the U.S. to use EW to protect its aircraft from radar-controlled, surface-to-air missiles. (2) In South Vietnam, both the U.S. Army and the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) used EW Support Measures (ESM) to aid their ground forces. (3) Vietnam also saw the first large scale use of airborne platforms to collect enemy communications and locate enemy units. e. Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. The Persian Gulf War provided an example of battlefield deception. The undetected positioning of the coalition forces showed how an effective use of radio silence and 1

2 deception can influence a battle's outcome. (1) Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) was heavily used to locate and destroy the Iraqi air defense capability. (2) The coalition forces used ESM to support the planning of deception operations. The U.S. Marine Corps portrayed an amphibious assault on Kuwait from the sea. EW was used to support rehearsed landings and to monitor the Iraqi forces reaction (determining unit locations and monitoring radio traffic) to the deception. f. The future. (1) There is little to indicate that the use of EW will diminish in the post-cold War era. (2) Directed energy weapons will be used in future battles. Radio frequency and microwave energy weapons are the most likely to be developed to disrupt or destroy communications. What affected the outcome of World War II? What was the purpose of ELINT during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm? Viewgraph 4: Electronic Warfare (EW) a. EW is a command responsibility. It is a significant force multiplier when integrated and used with fire and maneuver. b. ESM provides the capability to intercept, locate, and identify enemy emitters. (1) Interception operations provide EW planners with intelligence about the enemy's location, activity, possible future operations, and electronic disruption capabilities. (2) Location operations help planners to identify likely or possible enemy intentions. The data gathered can indicate if an enemy is in an offensive, defensive, or retrograde posture. The size of the area an enemy is occupying is a factor in determining the enemy unit's type and size. c. Electronic Counter Measures (ECM) are offensive actions taken to prevent or reduce an enemy's effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Effective ECM operations can degrade an enemy's combat effectiveness by degrading his electromagnetic operations. 2

3 (1) Electronic jamming reduces or denies an enemy the effective use of his electronic equipment. (2) Electronic deception is used to cause an enemy to misinterpret what his electronic collection systems receive. d. Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) are defensive measures used to protect friendly command, control, and communications (C 3 ) systems from enemy EW activities. It is closely related to signal security (SIGSEC). The main difference between the two is the type of information being protected from the enemy. ECCM protects friendly emitters from enemy EW assets. SIGSEC protects the information friendly forces transmit. Viewgraph 5: TLO Para 2 Check on Learning What capability does ESM provide? What is the definition of ECCM? Viewgraph 6: Offensive Electronic Warfare a. ESM allows the commander to know the type of enemy force he is facing. (1) The five major ESM components are: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Search. Intercept. Locate. Identify. Report. (2) In the search component, the ESM team uses special EW equipment to search for enemy electronic transmissions. b. ECM are actions taken to prevent or reduce effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum by enemy forces. 3

4 (1) Electronic jamming reduces or denies an enemy the effective use of his electronic equipment. (2) Electronic deception causes an enemy to misinterpret what his electronic systems receive. Viewgraph 7: The Electromagnetic Environment a. What battles are won depends in large part to the degree of C 2 the commander exercises. Radio is the primary means for carrying out C 2. b. A battlefield is extremely violent with an exceedingly dense signal environment. A single U.S. division engaged in combat may have over 3,000 communications emitters working. Viewgraph 8: Preventive Electronic Counter-Countermeasures (ECCM) a. Systems design. (1) A radio's low power setting. (2) Secure voice equipment. (3) Frequency hopping. b. Operational techniques. (1) Site selection, radiated power, and antenna selection are the most important considerations in radio system installation. (a) (b) (c) (d) An antenna should be placed to allow the terrain to mask it from the enemy. Frequent antenna relocation make the timely locating and targeting of stations more difficult. Use directional antennas when possible. Use low power settings when possible. (2) Radio operator procedures. (a) (b) (c) (d) Reduce operator-distinguishing characteristics and procedures. Operate on a random schedule. Use authentication. Encrypting Essential Elements of Friendly Information (EEFI). 4

5 Viewgraph 9: TLO Para 5 Check on Learning What are the two major areas of preventive ECCM? What are the most important considerations in radio system installation? Viewgraph 10: Defense Against Enemy Electronic Countermeasures (ECM) a. Radiotelephones provide rapid, short-range, person-to-person communications among mobile and air units. However, it has little defense against enemy Electronic Countermeasures (ECM). It also has little defense against message exploitation unless a security device is used. There are several basic rules for radiotelephone that provide some security and signal protection. b. Use the following to help provide transmission security: (1) No violation of radio silence. (2) No needless chatter among operators. (3) Transmit on directed nets only with permission. (4) No excessive tuning or testing. (5) No sending of an operator's personal name. (6) Only authorized use of plain language. (7) No association of classified and unclassified call signs. (8) No association of address groups and call signs. (9) Only authorized procedure words (prowords) used. c. Prowords are the voice equivalent of prosigns. Using prowords reduces the duration of transmissions. d. There are two correct methods for using call signs. (1) The complete call sign is used when entering a net. It is also used when requested by the Net Control Station (NCS) or another station in the net. (2) The abbreviated call sign is used once the net is entered. The NCS directs the use of abbreviated call signs on the net. Abbreviated call signs allow operators to more quickly identify 5

6 themselves and stations they are calling. This is a defensive EW technique. e. Correctly using the phonetic alphabet is needed to reduce transmission time. This also ensures that there is no confusion by the receiving operator. Viewgraph 11: TLO Para 6 Check on Learning When is the complete call sign used? What is the purpose of using prowords? a. Commanders use Line-of-Sight (LOS) multichannel communications radio, troposcatter, and satellite relay. b. Common myths about the security of multichannel communications can cause operators to violate basic Communications Security (COMSEC) practices. (1) Many think a multichannel radio is always secure. (2) Multichannel radio signals can be intercepted by very accurate enemy sensors. c. Too many operators use the nonsecure orderwire to discuss classified matter. d. Operating with misconceptions causes preventive ECCM techniques to have limited value. Viewgraph 12: Obvious Jamming a. Remedial Electronic Counter-Countermeasures are actions taken in response to enemy jamming. b. Jamming may be either obvious to the operator or extremely subtle and difficult to detect. (1) Obvious jamming is normally easy to detect. Modulated signals are commonly encountered. They are identified quite readily by the signal's actual modulation. Examples of obvious jamming include: (a) Random noise. This is synthetic radio noise that is 6

7 random in amplitude and frequency. It is similar to normal background noise. It is used to degrade all types of signals. (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) Stepped tones (bagpipes). These are sent at increasing and decreasing pitch. They resemble the sound of bagpipes and are normally used against single-channel AM or FM voice. Spark. This is an easily produced signal. Its sound resembles short duration, high intensity signals repeated at a rapid rate. It is very effective in disrupting all types of signals. Gulls. These are generated by a quick rise and then a slow fall of a variable radio signal. Similar to a sea gull's call, they produce a nuisance effect. They are usually effective against voice transmissions. Random pulse. This involves pulses of varying amplitude, duration, and rate. It is used to disrupt radar, and all types of data transmissions. Wobbler. This is a single frequency modulated by a slowly varying tone. Resembling a howling sound, it causes a nuisance to voice radio communications. Preamble jamming. This is the broadcasting of synchronization tones over the operating frequency of a radio net that uses voice security devices. It often causes radios to be locked in the receive mode. Recorded sounds. These can be any audible sound of a varying nature. For example, music, screams, applause, whistles, machinery noise, and laughter. These sounds are used to distract voice radio operators and disrupt communications. (2) Subtle jamming is not obvious to the radio operator because no sound is heard. (3) Unintentional jamming may be a big problem to communicators. Atmospheric conditions, malfunctions of the radio, and other radios (enemy or friend) cause it. Other sources include electric, electronic, and electromagnetic devices. Viewgraph 13: When You Are Jammed b. Once you realize an enemy is conducting jamming operations, you should report the jamming. The following are possible solutions: (1) Continue to operate. (2) Improve the signal-to-jamming ratio. (3) Adjust the receiver. This includes adjusting the beat frequency 7

8 oscillator, adjusting the bandwidth, adjusting the gain or volume control, and fine tuning the frequency. (4) Increase your transmitter power output. (5) Adjust, change, or move the antenna. (6) Set up a retransmission station. (7) Change the frequency. (8) Use a different satellite. (9) Use alternate communication means. Viewgraph 14: TLO Para 8 Check on Learning What are remedial Electronic Counter-Countermeasures? What should you do once you realize the enemy is conducting jamming operations? 8