A TOOL FOR DECEPTION: THE URGENT NEED FOR EM DECOYS
By Walker Mills February 27, 2020
THE EXTENT TO WHICH THE U.S. MILITARY HAS EMPLOYED DECEPTION, PARTICULARLY DECOYS, HAS VARIED OVER TIME BUT IS CURRENTLY AT A LOW
The militaries of both Russia and China have become increasingly adept in finding enemy units by searching for signatures in the electromagnetic spectrum. Coupled with those militaries’ precision, standoff weaponry and anti-access/area-denial capabilities, this development dramatically increases the risk to U.S. forces in case of conflict. The 2018 National Defense Strategy envisions forward and quick-reaction forces in “contact†and “blunt†layers that will likely initially fight outnumbered. Necessity will dictate these small units disperse and hide to survive, but this will also create opportunities for the imaginative use of tactical decoys that mimic formations of Soldiers and Marines. More broadly, it will be possible to use friendly activities in the electromagnetic spectrum to revive the long neglected field of deception operations.
Russian and Chinese operations in the electromagnetic spectrum are already presenting threats for units operating forward in contested spaces. In Europe, the U.S. Army confronts a formidable Russian reconnaissance-strike complex that operates across domains by identifying targets in the electromagnetic spectrum and then attacking them with massed fires. Ukrainian officers describe these Russian tactics as “highly effective.†Russian forces are “really active†in the EM spectrum and successful in locating Ukrainian forces through their radio transmissions. Near the town of Zelenopillya, Russian artillery destroyed two Ukrainian mechanized battalions after detecting their electromagnetic signatures. In the Pacific, Chinese capabilities in the electromagnetic spectrum, such as advanced jamming, have been described by a former Seventh Fleet Commander as “all encompassing†and “growing.â€
https://warroom.armywarcollege.edu/articles/tactical-decoys/
