Electronic Warfare Against the New Threat Environment

A new generation of threats has created a significant number of new challenges to Electronic Warfare equipment and tactics. This is a practical, hands-on course which covers Spectrum Warfare and current EW approaches, and moves on to discuss the new equipment capabilities and Tactics that are required to meet the new threat challenges. The course covers Spectrum Warfare, including the nature of this newly recognized “battle-space.” It also covers both legacy and next generation threat radars, digital communication theory and practice, and legacy communication threats, digital RF Memories, new developments in Infrared threats and countermeasures, and modern radar decoys. Each section of the course includes lecture, discussion and practical in-class problems. The corresponding textbook by Dave Adamy, Electronic Warfare Against a New Generation of Threats (Artech House, 2015), is recommended but not required.

• Concepts and strategies of Electromagnetic Spectrum Warfare.
• Important EW calculations (including J/S ratio, Burn-through range, Intercept range, etc.)
• EW impact of improved capabilities of new radar and communications threat systems.
• New EW systems and strategies required to counter modern threats
• Capabilities and applications of digital RF memories.
• Capabilities of modern IR weapons and countermeasures.
• Capabilities of radar decoys.

1. EW Principals & Overview Review of Electronic Warfare basics and dB math.
2. Electronic Spectrum Warfare. The nature and significance of this newly recognized “battle space.”
3. Legacy Radars Description of current threat systems and the EW techniques used against them.
4. Next Generation Threat Radars Description of new threat systems developed to counter current EW techniques and equipment.
5. Digital Communication Digital communication theory and its application to modern communication threat systems including integrated air defense systems.
6. Legacy Comm Threats Current hostile military communication and the countermeasures used against them.
7. Modern Comm Threats New generation hostile communications systems – including IEDs and the EW techniques used against them.
8. DRFMs Description of digital RF memory hardware & software and their application to EW operations.
9. IR Threats and CM Legacy and new generation IR threats and the countermeasures used against them.
10. Radar Decoys Modern radar decoys and how they protect airborne and shipboard assets.

Dave Adamy has over 50 years experience developing EW systems from DC to Light, deployed on platforms from submarines to space, with specifications from QRC to high reliability. For the last 30 years, he has run his own company, performing studies for the US Government and defense contractors. He has also presented dozens of courses in the US and allied countries on Electronic Warfare and related subjects He has published over 250 professional articles on Electronic Warfare, receiver system design and closely related subjects, including the popular EW101 column in the Journal of Electronic Defense. He holds an MSEE (Communication theory) and has 16 books in print.