ASOG Article of the Month: February 2021
ASOG Author: Siegfried Albrecht – CEO, ALBRECHT Telecommunications GmbH
Not all ASOs operate an optical system, radar or lasers-scanner for a living, many operate in the world of Electronic Warfare. These ASO’s are busy using the electromagnetic spectrum to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. Siegfried Albrecht, CEO of ALBRECHT Telecommunications, provides a great overview in his article of the EW world and its unique use or challenges in the Middle East.
The next war will be won by the side that best exploits the electromagnetic spectrum - it is an undisputed truism. The dramatic success of the use of Electronic Warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan is well known.
EW - THE CONCEPT
The recent technological explosion in applied electronics has produced hardware and software to benefit the common man like computers, video and audio devices, cell phones, satellite and telephone networks, and the internet, to name a few. It has also generated a wealth of sophisticated weapons and weapons systems for many countries' defense and security organizations.
The problem occurs when these 'electronic applications' are perceived to be, or become, a threat to national security, and consequently, counter-measures become imperative for the government concerned.
Make no mistake, EW is a vital weapon, and significant chunks of a national exchequer contribute towards its operation and sustenance, directly or otherwise. In essence, this is the dynamic world of electronic warfare, and it operates in the passive or active mode per the prevailing situation.
THE THREAT ENVIRONMENT
Let us take a closer view of the Defence environment. The application of on-going state-of-the-art technologies in any of its diverse weapons systems like aircraft, ships, missiles, radars, etc., is inevitably related to the electromagnetic spectrum.
In the contemporary context, one cannot conceive a military satellite without communication links, an aircraft without offensive or defensive electronics, a missile without guidance and homing devices, an Air Defense or Ground Defense system without electronic-based sensors or communication links. These are a few examples from the vast array of hardware-dependent on electronics in some form or other.
Most of these weapons and devices are passive but are active emitters, which radiate energy in different parts of the electromagnetic spectrum. If one could monitor these radiations over a period, analyze the data so gathered, there would then emerge a pattern, or picture, which could be utilized to determine the opponents' order of battle'.
A simple illustration of this point can be derived from a scenario where a country continuously listens out during peacetime, to all defense/security related communications emanating from various sources and devices from the opponents, and let's say, particularly the sensitive areas.
Passive listening posts, on the ground or airborne platforms like balloons and satellites, equipped with highly sensitive receivers and direction finders, could scan the frequency spectrum to determine not only the content of the messages being exchanged but also pinpoint the location by triangulation or other means, and achieve all this without divulging its own position.
In fact, skilled operators equipped with special software-driven monitoring devices could identify changes in links, changes in communication positions, the emergence of new transmitters, etc., which when collated and analyzed over a period of time could provide a remarkably realistic picture of the existing command and control network, and also reveal possible weapons arrangements in a tactical battle environment.
A more refined application of this intelligence gathering could be to use active elements like jammers, decoys, and deliberate provocations to ascertain what changes occur under stress.
In other words, deft exploitation of one's resources can significantly swing the balance in one's favor, provided one is fast enough to avail of the opportunities as they arise. Of course, this battle of wits goes on in peace and war. In fact, it becomes more intensified in the latter case, more time-sensitive, and can often result in rapid tactical gains.
To complete the EW concept, a brief word about the active elements of electronic warfare. Having identified the threat and located the target platform, static or mobile, one must find means to counter or destroy it.
One method is to deny its operation by jamming the radiated signal using a jammer in that frequency band. Not easy, as the jammer power, which has to be more than the power of the radiated signal, attenuates as per the square of the distance separating them. Thus one needs a very high power source, in itself an obvious limitation, mainly if the device is airborne.
Then there are other devices that lock on to the target signal and home on to it, e.g., anti-radar missiles. A counter-counter-measure is simply to switch off the signal at the cost of losing performance. These are a few examples of active EW.
The conceptual picture painted above is rather simplistic and has a limited dimension. In reality, the exploitation of the electromagnetic spectrum and EW application has to be extended in time and space to cover the inputs and outputs over large geographical areas and those located in elevated platforms like aerostat balloons, aircraft satellites.
Terrorism is a new factor that has emerged in the recent past, posing threats to national security from internal and external agencies. Here too, the main elements of passive EW are utilized, apart from specialized hardware cum software, to gather relevant intelligence. This data forms a composite input along with that derived from the defense environment.
THE MIDDLE EAST—a key to success
One may ask why the Middle East? Whatever the reason, whether it's avarice for its oil wealth, whether the theory of expansionism, or the domino theory, or merely might is right, whatever the vested compulsions, the fact remains that today it is an area of potential conflict.
The current players in this arena, both large and small, are perhaps already deriving the benefits of their EW capabilities appropriate to their individual resources. However, that does not spell the end. EW's basic premise is its dynamic nature. As is said, to every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, true to a large extent in this context.
There is a continuous activity of thrust and riposte, measures and counter-measures, upgrades to a new state of the art technology. In fact, significant advantages can be gained because the EW scenario is not static at a point in time.
One may recall the past conflicts in this region where sophisticated EW technology was met by some down to earth antidotes like deception and disinformation, where amateur frequency bands were used for operational military communications deliberately generating both plain and ciphered texts intended to confuse those listening out for such transmissions, the creation of illusory targets. At the same time, the threat emerged from unexpected locations. The successes were, at that point in time, perhaps partial in the overall context.
In the Middle East region, the EW battle will go on, and despite the 'mirage' created in this desert environment, the quest for electronic superiority will continue. For the lay reader or a remote observer, to discern what actually lies beneath the cloud cover or oil smoke is difficult to assimilate or quantify. However, with time, the side/player that gains ascendancy in this electronic environment will be the eventual survivor in the ultimate analysis.
About the Author:
Siegfried Albrecht: Siegfried brings over 30 years of experience in the design, manufacturing, and marketing of EW/ECM equipment. His skills and expertise span across Sophisticated Jammer Systems, EW/ECM Equipment and Systems, and High Security Ciphering Equipment.
Since 1980, he founded and is the CEO of ALBRECHT Telecommunication GmbH located near the town of Zug, Switzerland. Before starting his company, Siegfried obtained an Elektronic-Ingenieur degree and served in the German Air Force (ATC and Reconnaissance) on the German Eastern border.
