by Mark Abernethy
The growing importance of the internet has played out in many industries, most notably retail, real estate and financial services.
But the extraordinary advances being made in defence-related cyberspace and communications may have a greater impact as Australia's ADF is developed into a fighter of cyber and electronic warfare.
The Defence White Paper 2016 introduced cyber and space warfare as a priority for the ADF, not just in the use of cyber technologies to better manage its own combat capability, but as a vulnerability through which adversaries could attack Australia and its defence forces.
"The Australian Signals Directorate detected over 1200 cyber security incidents in 2015, including attacks on government agencies and non-government sectors," the White Paper said.
"Cyber attacks are a direct threat to the ADF's war fighting ability given its reliance on information networks. State and non-state actors now have ready access to highly capable and technologically advanced tools to target others through internet-connected systems and we are seeing greater use of offensive cyber operations."
Cyber warfare is itself evolving into 'electronic warfare' (EW), says EW specialist at BAE Systems, David Dunmall.
"We have moved from addressing radar as one piece, and communications as a distinct piece, and then cyber as another part," says Dunmall. "And with electronic warfare, we're addressing all of them – radar, comms and cyber – with one box and one piece of software."
Dunmall says EW encompasses the electromagnetic spectrum, from radar and laser to UHF and VHF and satellite, Wi Fi and even Bluetooth.
In the EW view of the world, the theatre to be fought over and won includes every spectrum, frequency and bandwidth ever used, including TV and radio.
Dunmall says the aim is not to try and control the whole spectrum, but to select electromagnetic spectrum and exploit it both to benefit your own forces, and frustrate the enemy's.
"Electronic warfare is frequency independent," says Dunmall. "We build equipment and software to deal with all of it, whether it is communications from an army HQ or a radar. The new environment for what was once called comint or sigint is now in one box. We prosecute all areas of the spectrum."
Given Australia's expansive strategic theatre – the 'Indo-Pacific' – the coverage of great distances will be enabled by IT and communications technologies which connect military assets to one another and to the commanders, while also staying secure from incursions from the enemy. Australia's latest acquisitions – such as the Air Warfare Destroyers, the Growlers, the F-35 stealth fighters and even the upgrades of the JORN over-the-horizon radar – are all connected into the systems by which the ADF will seek to fight electronic warfare in the electromagnetic realm.
Dunmall says not all EW is defensive or simply counter-measures. Australia's purchase of Growlers, and the development of the Cuttlefish project for the Royal Australian Navy, gives the ADF an 'EW attack' capability with which the enemy's use of spectrum can be inhibited or denied.
Cuttlefish, a joint project of BAE Systems and Defence Science and Technology Group, will counter radio frequency emitters, enabling the Royal Australian Navy to sustain a presence in hostile environments.
Cuttlefish seeks to control the electromagnetic world, giving Royal Australian Navy ships a capability to shape, disrupt and inhibit an adversary's surveillance and targeting of RAN platforms.
Dunmall says Australia does not have the large defence budgets of other nations so it uses research and smart people to punch above its weight. "With continued investment, Australia is well-placed for the demands of electronic warfare," he says.
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