February 28, 2014 · by Fortuna's Corner
How The Army Plans To Fight A War Across The Electro-Magnetic Spectrum
Patrick Tucker had an online article in the Feb. 26, 2014 edition of DefenseOne.com with the title above. Mr. Tucker notes that while the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Army have made significant efforts to “showcase their budding capabilities, the service/s and DoD have been less forthcoming about a key, more tangible component of cyber — electronic warfare — until now.”
Mr. Tucker notes that the Army has just publicly released its first ever, “Field Manual for Cyber Electromagnetic Activities,” which he adds, “covers operations related to cyber space and the electromagnetic spectrum.” This publication,” he says, is a recognition of the importance of access to the electromagnetic spectrum; and, highlights the importance of being able to fight in an electromagnetically challenged/degraded battle-space.
Mr. Tucker adds that this new manual, describes a variety of electromagnetic warfare (EW) operations — from sending confusing signals and messages that degrade the enemies’ communication capability on the battlefield, to finding enemy equipment and destroying it with big bursts of electromagnetic radiation. Mr. Tucker says “remember the James Bond movie Goldeneye? The manual doesn’t explain how to conduct specific EW attacks, but it does provide guidance to soldiers on what these sorts of operations might look like — in terms of protocol, terminology, and command and control.”
The electronic spectrum is the dimension that allows us to control drone flights, utilize GPS, drop a smart bomb, find an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and/or conduct satellite communications. The frequencies at the lower end of the spectrum are useful for radio and cell communication; while, the higher end of the spectrum is utilized to target cruise missiles and lasers.In essence, a major disruption to the electromagnetic spectrum — whether intentional, or an act of nature, would leave us “deaf, dumb, and blind,” for a period of time.
“The military has been fighting to maintain spectrum dominance since WWII,” argues Mr. Tucker,; but, the reliance on the electromagnetic spectrum is only increasing and is likely to take a variety of forms.” In essence, we are no longer spectrum enabled but, spectrum dependent — making that domain an attractive target for terrorists and others. Indeed, the unclassified military literature in China speaks of having to fight “disconnected” from the Internet and the electromagnetic spectrum.
The vulnerability and the potential consequences of a catastrophic degradation to the electromagnetic spectrum has recently gotten a lot of attention as various scholars and others have been warning of a potential Black Swan electromagnetic spectrum event. “The American military is scrambling to develop new tools and techniques that will help it preserve its electromagnetic edge,” says Wired.com’s Brendan Koerner. “But, that edge continues to shrink by the day, and very soon our inability to completely control the spectrum might result in a different kind of war.”
it is good to see that this critical domain is getting the attention and scholarly thought it deserves. For a considerable period of time (years) in DoD and elsewhere, this domain was pretty much relegated to an after-thought; and, just assumed to be available in future conflict/crisis. That is certainly no longer the case — if it ever was. Hopefully, this concern has translated into how the military conducts it wargames and exercises — to test how commanders might react to being rendered “deaf, dumb, and blind,” at least for a period of time — on the battlefield. Hopefully being electromagnetic spectrum dependent is seen as a potential weakness, as well as a domain to exploit and/or degrade — if confronted with an adversary that is overly dependent on its use. Hopefully that isn’t us. But, if it is, we need to wargame and red team courses of action and potential options when confronted with a severe degradation; otherwise, it could be a potential game-changer on the battlefield. V/R, RCP
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