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 ................
