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45-531: BriteCloud is a self-contained expendable Digital Radio Frequency Memory ( DRFM ) jammer developed by Selex ES (merged into Leonardo since 2017) to help protect military aircraft. The decoy was launched by Selex ES at a conference held at the Churchill War Rooms , London on 6 November 2013. Military aircraft face a highly developed airborne and surface-based RF threat. Mobile surface-to-air missiles with highly accurate RF tracking systems present

90-529: A frequency and bandwidth necessary to adequately represent the signal, then reconstruct that RF signal when required. The most significant aspect of DRFM is that as a digital "duplicate" of the received signal, it is coherent with the source of the received signal. As opposed to analog "memory loops", there is no signal degradation caused by continuously cycling the energy through a front-end amplifier which allows for greater range errors for reactive jamming and allows for predictive jamming. A DRFM system may modify

135-497: A discipline overlapping with ES, is the related process of analyzing and identifying intercepted transmissions from sources such as radio communication, mobile phones , radar , or microwave communication . SIGINT is broken into two categories: electronic intelligence ( ELINT ) and communications intelligence ( COMINT ). Analysis parameters measured in signals of these categories can include frequency , bandwidth , modulation , and polarization . The distinction between SIGINT and ES

180-502: A formidable threat when used in pop-up mode, and many older systems have been retrofitted with modern electronics that have greatly enhanced their capabilities. The modern systems are particularly difficult to counter, and have an array of Electronic Protection Measures (EPM) at their disposal. BriteCloud was developed to counter modern tracking systems. Its technology is based on previous generations of electronic countermeasures such as repeaters and Towed Radar Decoys (TRD). When launched,

225-459: A measure used to protect against an electronic enemy attack (EA) or to protect against friendly forces who unintentionally deploy the equivalent of an electronic attack on friendly forces. (sometimes called EW fratricide ). The effectiveness of electronic protection (EP) level is the ability to counter an electronic attack (EA). Flares are often used to distract infrared homing missiles into missing their target. The use of flare rejection logic in

270-613: A mixed load of expendibles and allows automatic logging of payload data eg. air carriage life. Leonardo is planning to apply this update to the BriteCloud 218 version. Technologies from BriteCloud are being used to develop the payload for SPEAR-EW, the electronic warfare variant of the SPEAR product line under development for the Royal Air Force . SPEAR-EW will be capable of both stand-in / stand-off jamming / spoofing similar to

315-755: Is a practice range that provides training for personnel operating in electronic warfare. There are two examples of such ranges in Europe : one at RAF Spadeadam in the northwest county of Cumbria , England, and the Multinational Aircrew Electronic Warfare Tactics Facility Polygone range on the border between Germany and France. EWTRs are equipped with ground-based equipment to simulate electronic warfare threats that aircrew might encounter on missions. Other EW training and tactics ranges are available for ground and naval forces as well. Antifragile EW

360-624: Is a step beyond standard EP, occurring when a communications link being jammed actually increases in capability as a result of a jamming attack, although this is only possible under certain circumstances such as reactive forms of jamming. Electronic warfare support (ES) is a subdivision of EW involving actions taken by an operational commander or operator to detect, intercept, identify, locate, and/or localize sources of intended and unintended radiated electromagnetic (EM) energy. These Electronic Support Measures (ESM) aim to enable immediate threat recognition focuses on serving military service needs even in

405-485: Is a suite of countermeasure systems fitted primarily to aircraft for the purpose of protecting the host from weapons fire and can include, among others: directional infrared countermeasures ( DIRCM , flare systems and other forms of infrared countermeasures for protection against infrared missiles; chaff (protection against radar-guided missiles); and DRFM decoy systems (protection against radar-targeted anti-aircraft weapons). An electronic warfare tactics range (EWTR)

450-901: Is addressing the other NATO defense lines of development. Primary EW activities have been developed over time to exploit the opportunities and vulnerabilities that are inherent in the physics of EM energy . Activities used in EW include electro-optical, infrared and radio frequency countermeasures; EM compatibility and deception; radio jamming , radar jamming and deception and electronic counter-countermeasures (or anti-jamming); electronic masking, probing, reconnaissance, and intelligence; electronic security; EW reprogramming; emission control; spectrum management; and wartime reserve modes. Electronic warfare consists of three major subdivisions: electronic attack (EA), electronic protection (EP), and electronic warfare support (ES). Electronic attack (EA), also known as electronic countermeasures (ECM), involves

495-402: Is an aid to the development of new radar systems, which allows for testing and evaluation of the radar system earlier in the design cycle . This type of testing reduces the cost of development, for example, expensive initial flight trials for airborne radars can now be moved to the laboratory. The radar can be tested either through direct coupling, or through air coupling with antennas. Testing

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540-453: Is an element of offensive and defensive counterinformation. NATO has a different and arguably more encompassing and comprehensive approach to EW. A military committee conceptual document from 2007, MCM_0142 Nov 2007 Military Committee Transformation Concept for Future NATO Electronic Warfare , recognised the EME as an operational maneuver space and warfighting environment/domain. In NATO, EW

585-795: Is considered to be warfare in the EME. NATO has adopted simplified language which parallels those used in other warfighting environments like maritime, land, and air/space. For example, an electronic attack (EA) is offensive use of EM energy, electronic defense (ED), and electronic surveillance (ES). The use of the traditional NATO EW terms, electronic countermeasures (ECM), electronic protective measures (EPM), and electronic support measures (ESM) has been retained as they contribute to and support electronic attack (EA), electronic defense (ED) and electronic surveillance (ES). Besides EW, other EM operations include intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR), and signals intelligence (SIGINT). Subsequently, NATO has issued EW policy and doctrine and

630-454: Is determined by the controller of the collection assets, the information provided, and the intended purpose of the information. Electronic warfare support is conducted by assets under the operational control of a commander to provide tactical information, specifically threat prioritization, recognition, location, targeting, and avoidance. However, the same assets and resources that are tasked with ES can simultaneously collect information that meets

675-500: Is to deny the opponent the advantage of—and ensure friendly unimpeded access to—the EM spectrum . Electromagnetic warfare can be applied from air , sea , land , or space by crewed and uncrewed systems, and can target communication , radar , or other military and civilian assets. Military operations are executed in an information environment increasingly complicated by the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum portion of

720-693: The Bayraktar TB2 had a life expectancy of about six flights. By summer 2022, only some one-third of Ukrainian UAV missions could be said to have been successful, as EW had contributed to Ukraine losing 90% of the thousands of drones it had at the beginning of the invasion. Russian EW capacity to disrupt GPS signals is credited with the reduction in the success of Ukrainian usage of HIMARS and JDAM bombs. The failure of GPS guidance forces these weapons, in particular JDAMS, to use inertial navigation system which reduces accuracy from around 5 metres (15 ft) down to around 27 metres (90 ft). Ukraine

765-531: The Euphrates River , modeled after a North Korean reactor and supposedly financed with Iranian assistance. Some reports say Israeli EW systems deactivated all of Syria's air defense systems for the entire period of the raid. In December 2010, the Russian Army deployed their first land-based multifunctional electronic warfare system known as Borisoglebsk 2 , developed by Sozvezdie . Development of

810-645: The BriteCloud 218 decoy launched from smaller 2”×1”×8” square-format standard cartridge dispensers. In 2019, the development of the BriteCloud 55-T was announced, designed for bigger military aircraft with larger radar cross-sections , eg. the C-130 Hercules . The first trials of the BriteCloud 55 decoy on the Eurofighter Typhoon took place in April 2019. Integration work on the aircraft is ongoing, as part of Project Centurion. Once in service with

855-580: The Japanese communications link by attempting to transmit a stronger radio signal over the Shinano Maru's signal, hoping to distort the Japanese signal at the receiving end. Russian Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky refused the advice and denied the Ural permission to electronically jam the enemy, which in those circumstances might have proved invaluable. The intelligence the Japanese gained ultimately led to

900-619: The RAF, BriteCloud will be one of the countermeasures available to the Typhoon’s Praetorian DASS . The BriteCloud 218 version was first tested on a Royal Danish Air Force F-16, successfully deploying the decoy after a real Surface-to-Air missile targeting system was used to lock on to the aircraft. The BriteCloud 218 decoy has now been approved by the US Air National Guard for deployment on its F-16 fleet, after

945-506: The Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet said its initial usage caused concern within NATO. A Russian blog described Borisoglebsk-2 thus: The 'Borisoglebsk-2', when compared to its predecessors, has better technical characteristics: wider frequency bandwidth for conducting radar collection and jamming, faster scanning times of the frequency spectrum, and higher precision when identifying

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990-852: The US Defense Department's Foreign Comparative Testing trials that began in 2019. It uses standard-size rectangular (square-format) rounds, compatible with common dispensers for example the AN/ALE-47 , and is thus useable on other 4th Generation fighters including the F-15 , F/A-18 and A-10 . Its US designation will be the AN/ALQ-260(V)1 . The decoy has been integrated on the General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper and MQ-9B Sky/SeaGuardian UCAVs after testing in late 2020. It's deployed by an AN/ALE-47 dispenser, part of

1035-606: The aircraft's Self-Protection Pod. The BriteCloud 55-T version has now been upgraded to pass NATO's STANAG-4871 self-protection standard. This means it now features compatibility with 'smart dispenser' systems, allowing the decoy to share data with the host aircraft's onboard self-protection system. It also now enables the ability to interface with smart dispenser systems using the NATO-developed Smart Stores Communication Interface (SSCI). The SSCI means BriteCloud can be carried with

1080-497: The application of DRFM in jammers : The DRFM digitizes the received signal and stores a coherent copy in digital memory. As needed, the signal is replicated and retransmitted. Being a coherent representation of the original signal, the transmitting radar will not be able to distinguish it from other legitimate signals it receives and processes as targets. As the signal is stored in memory, it can be used to create false targets both behind (reactive jamming) and ahead of (predictive jamming)

1125-469: The battery-powered decoy searches for and counters priority threats. Incoming radar pulses are received and the BriteCloud’s onboard computer copies these pulses and uses them to simulate a ‘false target’ so that the threat system cannot detect the intended target and fails. It is available in two versions: the BriteCloud 55 decoy launched from standard 55mm diameter chaff / flare cartridge dispensers, and

1170-464: The battle, although many were defeated by Vietnamese ECCM. In 2007, an Israeli attack on a suspected Syrian nuclear site during Operation Outside the Box (or Operation Orchard ) used electronic warfare systems to disrupt Syrian air defenses while Israeli jets crossed much of Syria, bombed their targets, and returned to Israel undeterred. The target was a suspected nuclear reactor under construction near

1215-523: The capabilities of the US Air Force 's ADM-160 MALD . Selex ES announced at the 2013 launch event that defence and security company Saab will be the first partner to offer the new decoy as an optional electronic warfare enhancement for all versions of the Gripen , both new and existing. Digital radio frequency memory A DRFM system is designed to digitize an incoming RF input signal at

1260-557: The case of anti-radiation weapons, this often includes missiles or bombs that can home in on a specific signal (radio or radar) and follow that path directly to impact, thus destroying the system broadcasting. In November 2021, Israel Aerospace Industries announced a new electronic warfare system named Scorpius that can disrupt radar and communications from ships, UAVs , and missiles simultaneously and at varying distances. On 8 September 2024, Russian drones entered both Romanian and Latvian airspace. Romania scrambled two F-16s to monitor

1305-584: The collection requirements for more strategic intelligence. The earliest documented use of EW was during the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. The British Army, when trying to relieve Ladysmith, under siege by the Boers , used a searchlight to "bounce" Morse code signals off the clouds. The Boers immediately spotted this and used one of their own searchlights in an attempt to jam the British signals. This

1350-723: The decisive Battle of Tsushima , where the Russian Navy lost all its battleships and most of its cruisers and destroyers. These losses effectively ended the Russo-Japanese War in Japan's favor. During World War II , the Allies and Axis Powers both extensively used EW, or what Winston Churchill referred to as the " Battle of the Beams ": as navigational radars were used to guide bombers to their targets and back to their base,

1395-820: The drone's progress, it landed "in an uninhabited area" near Periprava , according to the Romanian Ministry of Defence. The drone that entered Latvian airspace from Belarus crashed near Rezekne . This comes as the ISW noted increased success in Ukrainian Electronic Warfare against Russian drones that resulted in "several Russian Shahed drones (that) recently failed to reach their intended targets for unknown reasons." Two Kh-58s also reportedly failed to reach their targets. Electronic protection (EP), also known as an electronic protective measure (EPM) or electronic counter-countermeasure (ECCM) are

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1440-529: The first application of EW in WWII was to interfere with the navigational radars. Chaff was also introduced during WWII to confuse and defeat tracking radar systems. As battlefield communication and radar technology improved, so did electronic warfare, which played a major role in several military operations during the Vietnam War . Aircraft on bombing runs and air-to-air missions often relied on EW to survive

1485-530: The guidance (seeker head) of an infrared homing missile to counter an adversary's use of flares is an example of EP. While defensive EA actions (jamming) and EP (defeating jamming) both protect personnel, facilities, capabilities, and equipment, EP protects from the effects of EA (friendly and/or adversary). Other examples of EP include spread spectrum technologies, the use of restricted frequency lists, emissions control ( EMCON ), and low observability (stealth) technology. Electronic warfare self-protection (EWSP)

1530-408: The information environment is referred to as the electromagnetic environment (EME). The recognized need for military forces to have unimpeded access to and use of the electromagnetic environment creates vulnerabilities and opportunities for electronic warfare in support of military operations. Within the information operations construct, EW is an element of information warfare; more specifically, it

1575-527: The location and source of radar emissions, and increased capacity for suppression. During the first two days of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , Russian EW disrupted Ukraine's air defense radars and communications, severely disrupting Ukrainian ground-based air defense systems. Russian jamming was so effective it interfered with their own communications, so efforts were scaled back. This led to Ukrainian SAMs regaining much of their effectiveness, which began inflicting significant losses on Russian aircraft by

1620-431: The most tactical, rugged, and extreme environments. This is often referred to as simply reconnaissance, although today, more common terms are intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance ( ISR ) or intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance ( ISTAR ). The purpose is to provide immediate recognition, prioritization, and targeting of threats to battlefield commanders. Signals intelligence (SIGINT),

1665-414: The offensive use of electromagnetic energy weapons, directed energy weapons, or anti-radiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability including human life. In the case of electromagnetic energy, this action is most commonly referred to as "jamming" and can be performed on communications systems or radar systems. In

1710-490: The radar in a closed loop HWIL environment with a DRFM allows test case scenarios to be simulated that covers a larger number of test parameters than would be possible in open-air test ranges. Electronic warfare Electromagnetic warfare or electronic warfare ( EW ) is warfare involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy operations. The purpose of electromagnetic warfare

1755-653: The signal prior to retransmitting which can alter the signature of the false target; adjusting its apparent radar cross section , range, velocity, and angle. DRFMs present a significant obstacle for radar sensors. The earliest reference to a digital means of storage of RF pulse signals is an article in the Jan/Feb 1975 issue of Electronic Warfare, a publication of the Association of Old Crows , written by Sheldon C. Spector, entitled "A Coherent Microwave Memory Using Digital Storage: The Loopless Memory Loop". An example of

1800-658: The start of March 2022. Rapid Russian advances at the start of the war prevented EW troops from properly supporting the advancing troops, but by late March and April 2022, extensive jamming infrastructure had been deployed. EW complexes were set up in Donbas in concentrations of up to 10 complexes per 13 mi (21 km) of frontage. Electronic suppression of GPS and radio signals caused heavy losses of Ukrainian UAVs, depriving them of intelligence and precise artillery fire spotting. Small quadcopters had an average life expectancy of around three flights, and larger fixed-wing UAVs like

1845-529: The system started in 2004 and evaluation testing successfully completed in December 2010. The Borisoglebsk-2 uses four different types of jamming stations on a single system. The Borisoglebsk-2 system is mounted on nine MT-LB armored vehicles and is intended to suppress mobile satellite communications and satellite-based navigation signals. This EW system is developed to conduct electronic reconnaissance and suppression of radio-frequency sources. In August 2015,

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1890-507: The target intended for protection. Slight variations in frequency can be made to create Doppler (velocity) errors in the victim receiver as well. DRFM can also be used to create distorted phase-fronts at the victim receive antenna which is essential for countering monopulse radar angular measurement techniques. Since a DRFM system is designed to create a false target to a radar system, this technology can be employed to perform hardware-in-the-loop simulation . Hardware-in-the-loop simulation

1935-762: Was graphically described by Winston Churchill in his book London to Ladysmith via Pretoria . During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 the Japanese auxiliary cruiser Shinano Maru had located the Russian Baltic Fleet in Tsushima Strait , and was communicating the fleet's location by radio signals to the Imperial Japanese Fleet HQ. The captain of the Russian warship Ural requested permission to disrupt

1980-480: Was in widespread use on front lines to impair small battlefield UAV activity, with Russia installing video feedback and control jammers on high-value equipment like tanks and artillery. By 11 March 2024, Ukraine reported it had destroyed a Russian Palantin EW system in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, which "suppress satellite radio navigation along the entire line of contact and in most parts of Ukraine, replacing

2025-490: Was losing some 10,000 drones a month due to Russian electronic warfare, according to a 19 May 2023 report by the Royal United Services Institute . This was an average of 300 drones a day. Russia has established EW posts about every 10 kilometres (6 mi) of the front, being some 6 kilometres (4 mi) back from the front line. In October 2023, The Economist reported that electronic warfare

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