Sebastien Roblin
Security,
We Now know America's blueprint ought strike Russia or China's air Defenses
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles last ought expend at climax and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electric battle will remain radical motorway because air energy ought survive at the combat spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s attempt ought counter new advances at air-defense radars—while adding ought its handbag of electric tricks.
U.S. warplanes flying at Syria today discover themselves operating within the climax of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles. still the U.S. military is unlikely ought intentionally assault Russian army at Syria, the condition highlights the importance of suppressing competitor air defenses—one chief tactic U.S. flyers dine want relied upon is radar jamming, or saturating competitor radars with “noise” and artificial signals consequently that they can’t chase and liberate upon friendly airplanes. The U.S. fleet has relied above the ALQ-99 jamming system because almost half a century, flat because opposing radars grew at ability. However, by the beginning of the next decade it will commence fielding the superior Next Generation Jammer, boasting significant electronic-attack and signal-intelligence capabilities.
Recommended: North Korea Has 200,000 Soldiers at Its special army
The powerful ALQ-99 tactical jamming pod first entered U.S. fleet service at 1971, carried by the EA-6 Prowler, an electronic-warfare variant of the A-6 Intruder carrier-based assault airplane with a four-man crew. The U.S. air compel at length supplemented the Prowler with faster and larger EF-111 Ravens, informally known because Spark Varks because of the intense static buildup their jammers generated. Both planes proved effective at suppressing air defenses at Iraq and Libya. However, the Raven was withdrawn from service early at 1998, because the imminent retirement of the F-111 fleet made it prohibitively dear ought operate. Seventeen years later, the Navy retired its aging EA-6s in favor of new EA-18G Growlers—special electronic-warfare variants of the F-18 Super Hornet. The two-seat Growlers are much faster and improve armed, besides during cause ought confide above automation ought create up because the reduction at crew size.
Recommended: 5 Most powerful airplane Carriers, Subs, Bombers and Fighter airplane Ever
The Marine Corps will last ought flee its Prowlers until retirement at 2019, leaving the Growler because the sole remaining tactical jammer. Overall, request because jamming airplane has remained high flat because the amount has diminished. The jammers dine flat proven useful at the combat against ISIS by scrambling ISIS communications and disabling roadside bombs.
Jamming, however, is no a panacea against competitor radars—it sharply degrades their effective climax besides during does no neutralize them entirely, and jamming airplane dine ought exist careful no ought acquire also finish ought the defenses they are scrambling. Furthermore, still the analog-based ALQ-99 has plentiful power, new radars brag greater energy because well, and are more able of switching frequencies and networking with friendly sensors ought conquer the effects of jamming.
Recommended: Why North Korea Is Destined ought experiment More ICBMs and Nuclear Weapons
Enter the Next Generation Jammer program, the first documents because which were released by the Pentagon at 2004, with the aim of bringing jamming into the digital age. The NGJ had originally been envisioned because an automated pod because apply above single-seat F-35 Lightning stealth fighters, which used to serve at entire three branches of the military. However, this thought proved much more dear and time-consuming than expected—which could summarize exist the F-35 program at a nutshell. Instead, the Pentagon at length decided ought concentrate above re-equipping the fleet Growlers with the new jamming system, and at 2013 chose the create proposed by Raytheon at three chief competitors.
The NGJ is designed ought trade against a complete spectrum of radars, besides during different radars will plead different countermeasures, which Raytheon is developing above a staggered schedule. The upcoming Increment 1 pods are designed ought press mid-band combat radars commonly used by ground-based surface-to-air missiles, which pose the greatest hazard ought U.S. airplane today. Once available, the EA-18 will cause two of the mid-band pods—one below each wing.
However, the Growler will retain a sole fuselage-mounted ALQ-99 pod optimized because jamming low-band radars until the Increment 2 NGJ pod is ready farther into the 2020s. Low-band or surveillance radars dine a broader scanning area, and are effective at tracking competitor aircraft—even stealth fighters!—but are also imprecise because targeting weapons. Nonetheless, surveillance radars assist the more narrowly focused combat radars know where ought show because enemies, and a forewarned combat radar can ambush a stealth fighter at short range. Thus, because the amount of stealth airplane swells with the produce of the F-35, jamming low-band radars will expend more and more important.
Eventually, Raytheon too plans ought ripen an Increment 3 system because jamming high-band combat radars, which are general above fighter planes.
The fifteen-foot NGJ pods hire an energetic Electronically Scanned Array radar with gallium nitride components that increase radio energy. Program manager Capt. John Bailey claimed at a seminar that the NGJ can generate ten era the radiated isotropic energy flat of the preceding ALQ-99, and that the sign is “cleaner,” minimizing the collateral interference with friendly signals. impartial because importantly, the NGJ can press multiple frequencies—Captain Bailey claims four era because many—and is designed ought exist an “agile” jammer, able of analyzing new competitor signals and adjusting its hold frequencies ought counter them literally above the fly. Moreover, because the NGJ is a digital solid-state open-architecture system, it can exist upgraded with new “threat libraries” of hostile hardware, allowing it ought exist easily—and cheaply—upgraded ought competition new adversary capabilities. Finally, the NGJ pods can perform entire of this without draining energy from the Growler carrying it, owing ought its ram air turbine.
The jamming pods too reportedly vary with additional bells and whistles, most notably the capacity ought spy above competitor communications. This used to apparently start the Growler ought serve because a latent Signals attend (SIGINT) platform, too because enable it ought double because a communication hub. The NGJ also reportedly comes with cyber-attack abilities ought perform a “network invasion” by inserting data packets into adversary systems, a technique that has been demonstrated by an air compel EC-130.
Since being approved ought ripen the NGJ, the NGJ development process has proven relatively fast and efficient. However, a Department of Testing report notes that the NGJ has however ought exist tested at operational conditions and that the pods’ effects above the EA-18 flight deed are unclear. The explain too expresses affair that the NGH pods can humiliate the deed of the Growler’s ALQ-218 receiver, decrease climax and pose an electromagnetic hazard ought the fighter’s AGM-88 antiradar missiles.
The NGJ Increment 1 jammers are intended ought dine initial operating capability almost 2021. The Pentagon has already allocated $1 billion because this first batch, with little more billions likely ought pursue at time. Australia, meanwhile, has invested $192 million into the program, and intends ought at length coincide them above its twelve new Growlers, which will total delivery afterward this year.
Eventually, the Pentagon intends ought revisit developing a NGJ pod specially because the F-35—but that will likely wait until the late 2020s at the earliest. at the meantime, there is report of proper the NGJ to the Navy UCLASS drone ought enlarge the amount of available jamming platforms.
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles last ought expend at climax and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electric battle will remain radical motorway because air energy ought survive at the combat spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s attempt ought counter new advances at air-defense radars—while adding ought its handbag of electric tricks.
Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s grade at collide resolution from Georgetown college and served because a college instructor because the Peace Corps at China. He has too worked at education, editing and refugee resettlement at France and the United States. He currently writes above security and military history for War Is Boring.
Recommended: Why Doesn't America murder Kim Jong Un?
Recommended: 1.2 Million Casualties: if North Korea Attacked Los Angeles with a Nuclear Weapon
Read complete article
