Electronic Weapons: Listening in on the Enemy
November 18, 2023: The U.S. Air Force recently received the first of ten to fourteen EC-37B Compass Call electronic warfare aircraft. These are Gulfstream 550 business jets modified for military use. These are replacing fourteen older EC-130H aircraft. The older electronic warfare aircraft entered service in 1982 and proved invaluable when used from 2003 to 2014 in Iraq and Afghanistan. The electronic warfare capabilities range from jamming wireless communication on the ground or listening in and, using onboard and on the ground translators, alerting troops about what enemy troops and commanders are talking about. The EC-37B can also jam ground-based radars and a wide range of enemy electronic systems. EC-37B can do everything the older EC-130H could and do it faster and over greater distances. EC-37B has additional capabilities that troops supported by the EC-130H had asked for. Some of the EC-130H aircraft are still in service and comparisons with the new EC-37B will be easy to make. Nothing like some competition to get the most out of both systems.
In Iraq, where most foreign troops left in 2011, fighting continues. Now the enemy is ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) and the Iraqis asked the Americans to at least send in some EC-130H aircraft so the Iraqi commanders would be aware of what the ISIL men were talking about. The Iraqis were doing the fighting but appreciated the limited Americans presence. There were only about 2,000 American troops still in Iraq and they were there as trainers not fighters.
By the end of 2015 Iraq declared Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, which is most of western Iraq, back under government control. This was big news and reporters speaking to Iraqi commanders were told that two types of American support were critical for making the operation a success and keeping Iraqi casualties down. Reporters were not surprised to hear that Iraqi officers were glad to see the return of American air support, and in a big way. Many of these battalion and brigade commanders had started their careers after 2003 when American air support was common and greatly missed it after Iraqi politicians refused to let the American continue providing it after 2011. But to the surprise of the foreign journalists, Iraqi commanders praised the return of American electronic warfare aircraft, especially those with the ability to selectively listen in on enemy wireless communications and, if needed, quickly jam it. With this capability Iraqi intel officers and commanders could listen to the enemy communications in real-time and at any point ask for it to be jammed. This made the enemy vulnerable because the army was listening in no matter what wireless communications was used and could quickly jam it if that seemed more advantageous for the army.
http://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htecm/articles/20231117.aspx
