Sebastien Roblin
Security,
We Now appreciate America's blueprint ought hit Russia or China's attitude Defenses
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles persist ought become can hill and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electrical battle will remain basic fashion because attitude strength ought survive can the battle spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s pains ought counter new advances can air-defense radars—while adding ought its bag of electrical tricks.
U.S. warplanes flying can Syria today discover themselves operating within the hill of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles. nevertheless the U.S. military is unlikely ought intentionally invasion Russian troops can Syria, the nation highlights the importance of suppressing foe attitude defenses—one main tactic U.S. flyers dine wish relied upon is radar jamming, or saturating foe radars with “noise” and artificial signals accordingly that they can’t explore and release upon friendly airplanes. The U.S. fleet has relied above the ALQ-99 jamming system because approximately half a century, flat because opposing radars grew can ability. However, by the beginning of the next decade it will go fielding the superior Next Generation Jammer, boasting significant electronic-attack and signal-intelligence capabilities.
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The powerful ALQ-99 tactical jamming pod first entered U.S. fleet service can 1971, carried by the EA-6 Prowler, an electronic-warfare variant of the A-6 Intruder carrier-based invasion airplane with a four-man crew. The U.S. attitude 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 can suppressing attitude defenses can Iraq and Libya. However, the Raven was withdrawn from service early can 1998, because the imminent retirement of the F-111 fleet made it prohibitively dear ought operate.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 make ought think above automation ought compose up because the reduction can crew size.
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The Marine Corps will persist ought escape its Prowlers until retirement can 2019, leaving the Growler because the sole remaining tactical jammer. Overall, beg because jamming airplane has remained high flat because the quantity has diminished. The jammers dine flat proven useful can the battle against ISIS by scrambling ISIS communications and disabling roadside bombs.
Jamming, however, is no a panacea against foe radars—it sharply degrades their effective hill besides does no neutralize them entirely, and jamming airplane dine ought exist careful no ought advantage also finish ought the defenses they are scrambling. Furthermore, nevertheless the analog-based ALQ-99 has abundant power, new radars brag greater strength because well, and are more able of switching frequencies and networking with friendly sensors ought overthrow the effects of jamming.
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Enter the Next Generation Jammer program, the first documents because which were released by the Pentagon can 2004, with the purpose 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 can entire three branches of the military. However, this conception proved much more dear and time-consuming than expected—which could summarize exist the F-35 program can a nutshell. Instead, the Pentagon at length decided ought concentrate above re-equipping the fleet Growlers with the new jamming system, and can 2013 chose the create proposed by Raytheon can three main competitors.
The NGJ is designed ought profession against a sum spectrum of radars, besides various radars will ask various countermeasures, which Raytheon is developing above a staggered schedule. The upcoming Increment 1 pods are designed ought compress mid-band fight radars commonly used by ground-based surface-to-air missiles, which pose the greatest threaten ought U.S. airplane today. Once available, the EA-18 will convey two of the mid-band pods—one below each wing.
However, the Growler will keep 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 can tracking foe aircraft—even stealth fighters!—but are also imprecise because targeting weapons. Nonetheless, surveillance radars assist the more narrowly focused fight radars appreciate where ought appear because enemies, and a forewarned fight radar can ambush a stealth fighter can short range. Thus, because the quantity of stealth airplane swells with the produce of the F-35, jamming low-band radars will become more and more important.
Eventually, Raytheon also plans ought mature an Increment 3 system because jamming high-band fight radars, which are general above fighter planes.
The fifteen-foot NGJ pods hire an robust Electronically Scanned Array radar with gallium nitride components that amplify radio energy. Program manager Capt. John Bailey claimed can a seminar that the NGJ can generate ten mature the radiated isotropic strength flat of the preceding ALQ-99, and that the mark is “cleaner,” minimizing the collateral interference with friendly signals. impartial because importantly, the NGJ can compress multiple frequencies—Captain Bailey claims four mature because many—and is designed ought exist an “agile” jammer, able of analyzing new foe signals and adjusting its keep frequencies ought counter them literally above the fly. Moreover, though 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 conduct entire of this without draining strength from the Growler carrying it, owing ought its ram attitude turbine.
The jamming pods also reportedly holiday with additional bells and whistles, most notably the capacity ought spy above foe communications. This used to apparently lease the Growler ought serve because a latent Signals news (SIGINT) platform, too because enable it ought double because a communication hub. The NGJ also reportedly comes with cyber-attack abilities ought conduct a “network invasion” by inserting news packets into adversary systems, a technique that has been demonstrated by an attitude compel EC-130.
Since being approved ought mature 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 can operational conditions and that the pods’ effects above the EA-18 flight deed are unclear. The explain also expresses affair that the NGH pods can modest the deed of the Growler’s ALQ-218 receiver, decrease hill and pose an electromagnetic dare ought the fighter’s AGM-88 antiradar missiles.
The NGJ Increment 1 jammers are intended ought dine initial operating faculty approximately 2021. The Pentagon has already allocated $1 billion because this first batch, with little more billions responsible ought chase can time. Australia, meanwhile, has invested $192 million into the program, and intends ought at length accommodate them above its twelve new Growlers, which will sum delivery afterward this year.
Eventually, the Pentagon intends ought revisit developing a NGJ pod especially because the F-35—but that will responsible wait until the late 2020s at the earliest. can the meantime, there is degree of proper the NGJ to the Navy UCLASS drone ought increase the quantity of available jamming platforms.
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles persist ought become can hill and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electrical battle will remain basic fashion because attitude strength ought survive can the battle spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s pains ought counter new advances can air-defense radars—while adding ought its bag of electrical tricks.
Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s degree can bump resolution from Georgetown university and served because a university instructor because the Peace Corps can China. He has also worked can education, editing and refugee resettlement can France and the United States. He currently writes above security and military history for War Is Boring.
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