Electronic Warfare: Comprehensive Strategy Needed for Suppressing Enemy Air Defenses
Abstract
The U.S. armed services must suppress enemy air defenses to be able to accomplish their war fighting objectives and survive. To achieve this suppression, the services use specialized aircraft designed to neutralize, destroy, or temporarily degrade enemy air defense systems through either physical attack or electronic warfare. Specialized aircraft use electronic warfare devices, called jammers, to temporarily suppress enemy air defenses by transmitting electronic signals that disrupt enemy radar and communications. Other specialized aircraft use anti-radiation missiles that home in on radar used by surface-to-air missile or anti-aircraft artillery systems to physically degrade or destroy them. Because suppression aircraft are charged with protecting all of the services' aviation assets in hostile airspace, the suppression mission necessarily crosses individual service lines.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA385247
Entities
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office