The U.S. is expected to debut a new unmanned jamming
aircraft over Iraq to block and confuse communications
DAVID A. FULGHUM/WASHINGTON
The U.S. bag of new technological tricks isn't empty yet, and for the conflict in Iraq the Air Force is fielding a UAV that can jam enemy communications or spoof them with authentic-looking or -sounding messages from their leaders.
While withholding specific information about the type of unmanned aircraft used (although only two or three have the load-carrying capability), officials indicate it would supplement--from much closer range--key communications jamming missions conducted in past conflicts by the Navy and Marine Corps EA-6B Prowler and Air Force's EC-130 Compass Call aircraft.
"There are mission areas that have critical deficiencies," said Dyke Weatherington, head of the UAV planning task force. "Airborne electronic attack is one of them. The Air Force believes a portion of that mission area could be supported by UAV systems operating in that role."
Analysts say electronic emitters powerful enough to jam radars, particularly those associated with antiaircraft missile installations, are too heavy to be carried even by the services' three largest UAVs--the Predator A, Predator B and Global Hawk.
However, UAVs with small communications jammers fill a gaping void in tactical aviation where even relatively low-power devices are effective when flown close to the radios they are trying to jam. The EC-130 Compass Call, which specializes in communications jamming, often has to stand well away of the battle area because its large size and slow speed make it vulnerable to attack.
One clue is that Predators and AC-130 gunships were linked as a formidable team, through the ability to share sensor and targeting information, during combat operations in Afghanistan. The mission of electronic attack may well see the new combination of an EC-130 and a UAV specialized for communications jamming and other electronic attack missions. So far, Predators are the only aircraft the Air Force has acknowledged it can control or otherwise manipulate from stations fitted into a C-130 type aircraft.
"A communications jammer is typically targeted against relatively low-power VHF and UHF transceivers," said a military official who specializes in UAVs and their payloads. "You're not trying to jam the signal at its source. You are trying to prevent the receiving system from being able to synchronize with a transmitter or even to receive the intended signal."
The least complicated application is to mask the incoming message with noise.
"The other game that's played is to inject your own signal [into the enemy radio] for spoofing or exploitation," the military official said. "You can tell them to surrender or whatever, as if it were a message coming from their immediate commander."
THE UAV WOULD ACT as a remote relay for such deceptive electronic warfare. The crew on the EC-130 could be crafting fake messages that might say, "Return to your barracks," in approved frequency bands and formats and bearing all the approved electronic authentications and signatures.
"It would be suspicious if an EC-130 was cruising overhead, but they may not note the smaller UAV," the military official said. "The closer you are [to the site you want to jam or spoof], the better you are able to emulate being a legitimate member of the net. The farther away you are, the broader the beam width has to be and commanders might notice the false message and correct it. From a UAV close to the target, you can conduct spoofing without letting everyone else know what you're doing."
The two available Global Hawks are unlikely candidates for an electronic attack role since they have just returned to their base in the United Arab Emirates, where they are occupied full-time collecting electro-optical, infrared and synthetic aperture radar images.
"Global Hawk has demonstrated, even in the development stage today, a good capability to support segments of the ISR [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] mission area," Weatherington said. "What other areas that system might evolve to is still open to debate." It's no secret that an EADS signals intelligence-gathering payload has been sized to fit in a Global Hawk. It is to be demonstrated in Germany once a Global Hawk has been released from demands imposed by operations in Iraq.
There are about 90 UAVs currently deployed by the services; among them are four Global Hawks, two Predator Bs, about 50 Predators and a variety of smaller, shorter range aircraft. "We have more unmanned systems today supporting the warfighter than we ever had before," Weatherington said.
While communications jamming appears to be the first priority for the UAV electronic attack, there are indications that computer network attack also is seen as ................
