Sebastien Roblin
Security,
We Now know America's design ought hit Russia or China's air Defenses
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles summary ought depart at mount and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electric campaign will linger indispensable fashion during air force ought survive can the campaign spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s trouble ought counter new advances at air-defense radars—while adding ought its bag of electric tricks.
U.S. warplanes flying can Syria today discover themselves operating within the mount of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missiles. calm the U.S. military is unlikely ought intentionally assault Russian troops at Syria, the situation highlights the importance of suppressing competitor air defenses—one chief tactic U.S. flyers dine wish relied upon is radar jamming, or saturating competitor radars with “noise” and artificial signals consequently that they can’t chase and dismiss upon kind airplanes. The U.S. fleet has relied above the ALQ-99 jamming system during almost half a century, level during opposing radars grew at ability. However, by the beginning of the next decade it will depart 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 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 strength at length supplemented the Prowler with faster and larger EF-111 Ravens, informally known during 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 However, the Raven was withdrawn from service early at 1998, during the imminent retirement of the F-111 fleet made it prohibitively expensive ought operate.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, cottage during have ought ponder above automation ought compose up during the reduction at crew size.
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The Marine Corps will summary ought escape its Prowlers until retirement at 2019, leaving the Growler during the virgin remaining tactical jammer. Overall, implore during jamming airplane has remained high level during the amount has diminished. The jammers dine level proven useful at the campaign against ISIS by scrambling ISIS communications and disabling roadside bombs.
Jamming, however, is no a panacea against competitor radars—it sharply degrades their effective mount cottage during does no neutralize them entirely, and jamming airplane dine ought be careful no ought win also near ought the defenses they are scrambling. Furthermore, calm the analog-based ALQ-99 has plentiful power, new radars brag greater force during well, and are more able of switching frequencies and networking with kind sensors ought overthrow the effects of jamming.
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Enter the Next Generation Jammer program, the first documents during which were released by the Pentagon at 2004, with the goal of bringing jamming into the digital age. The NGJ had originally been envisioned during an automated pod during use above single-seat F-35 Lightning stealth fighters, which used to serve at complete three branches of the military. However, this sentiment proved much more expensive and time-consuming than expected—which could summarize be 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 invent proposed by Raytheon can three chief competitors.
The NGJ is designed ought occupation against a full spectrum of radars, cottage during various radars will ask various countermeasures, which Raytheon is developing above a staggered schedule. The upcoming Increment 1 pods are designed ought press mid-band effort 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 have two of the mid-band pods—one below each wing.
However, the Growler will conserve a virgin fuselage-mounted ALQ-99 pod optimized during 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 during targeting weapons. Nonetheless, surveillance radars help the more narrowly focused effort radars know where ought appearance during enemies, and a forewarned effort radar can ambush a stealth fighter at short range. Thus, during the quantity of stealth airplane swells with the manufacture of the F-35, jamming low-band radars will depart more and more important.
Eventually, Raytheon also plans ought mature an Increment 3 system during jamming high-band effort radars, which are mutual above fighter planes.
The fifteen-foot NGJ pods hire an brisk Electronically Scanned Array radar with gallium nitride components that enlarge radio energy. Program manager Capt. John Bailey claimed at a seminar that the NGJ can generate ten ripen the radiated isotropic force even of the preceding ALQ-99, and that the sign is “cleaner,” minimizing the collateral interference with kind signals. just during importantly, the NGJ can press multiple frequencies—Captain Bailey claims four ripen during many—and is designed ought be an “agile” jammer, able of analyzing new competitor signals and adjusting its own frequencies ought counter them literally above the fly. Moreover, during the NGJ is a digital solid-state open-architecture system, it can be upgraded with new “threat libraries” of hostile hardware, allowing it ought be easily—and cheaply—upgraded ought contest new adversary capabilities. Finally, the NGJ pods can fulfill complete of this without draining force from the Growler carrying it, due ought its ram air turbine.
The jamming pods also reportedly depart with extra bells and whistles, most notably the capacity ought spy above competitor communications. This used to apparently hire the Growler ought serve during a latent Signals mind (SIGINT) platform, also during enable it ought double during a traffic hub. The NGJ also reportedly comes with cyber-attack abilities ought perform a “network invasion” by inserting information packets into adversary systems, a technique that has been demonstrated by an air strength 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 cottage ought be tested at operational conditions and that the pods’ effects above the EA-18 flight constitution are unclear. The interpret also expresses bargain that the NGH pods can modest the constitution of the Growler’s ALQ-218 receiver, reduce mount and pose an electromagnetic danger ought the fighter’s AGM-88 antiradar missiles.
The NGJ Increment 1 jammers are intended ought dine initial operating capacity nearly 2021. The Pentagon has already allocated $1 billion during this first batch, with little more billions apt ought follow can time. Australia, meanwhile, has invested $192 million into the program, and intends ought at length costume them above its twelve new Growlers, which will end delivery afterward this year.
Eventually, the Pentagon intends ought revisit developing a NGJ pod especially during the F-35—but that will apt wait until the late 2020s at the earliest. at the meantime, there is oration of responsible the NGJ to the Navy UCLASS drone ought enlarge the quantity of available jamming platforms.
As radars and radar-guided antiaircraft missiles summary ought depart at mount and sophistication, jamming and other forms of electric campaign will linger indispensable fashion during air force ought survive can the campaign spaces of the future. The Next Generation Jammer is the Pentagon’s trouble ought counter new advances at air-defense radars—while adding ought its bag of electric tricks.
Sébastien Roblin holds a master’s kind at bump decision from Georgetown institute and served during a institute instructor during the Peace Corps at China. He has also 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.
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