Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare
November 16, 2022 6:20 PM
The following is the Nov. 14, 2022, Congressional Research Service report Defense Primer: Electronic Warfare.
From the report
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 spectrum is a range of frequencies for electromagnetic energy. EW supports command and control (C2) by allowing military commanders’ access to the spectrum to communicate with forces, while preventing potential adversaries from accessing the spectrum to develop an operational picture and communicate with their forces. Some have argued that EW is a component of anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) campaigns.
Role of EW in Military Operations
Since the introduction of two-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 spectrum to communicate, transmit data, and potentially destroy a target.
Modern militaries rely on communications equipment that uses broad portions of the spectrum to conduct military operations. This allows forces to talk, transmit data, provide navigation and timing information, and to command and control forces all over the world. They also rely 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 spectrum through electronic warfare. From the perspective of military operations, there are three broad divisions of electronic warfare
https://news.usni.org/2022/11/16/defense-primer-electronic-warfare
