Signature management to improve survivability on the battlefield
Author: Andy Haslam, Director of Business Development, PPM Systems
The old adage of transmit and move within 8 minutes to avoid being targeted has gone. This is now down to a matter of seconds before your adversary has witnessed your RF transmission, through RF Direction Finding (DF) identified your location, and transmitted fire control orders to close or deep fires to fire onto your location. The longest time aspect of this now being the duration that the enemy’s response is in the air (be it a missile, artillery, Electronic Attack or drone). Therefore, management of a deployed force’s RF signature is a key principle in increasing survivability.
Traditional signature management efforts typically focused on countering Electro-Optic (EO) sensors such as cameras, acoustic or thermal imagers, which can be countered by employing professional, well-rehearsed field craft. However, with the increasing use of Direction Finding (DF) enabled Electronic Surveillance (ES) sensors for targeting, RF signature management is a key element for survivability.
Reducing RF emissions is the primary approach to managing the RF signature of any deployed force; as tactical communications are typically the primary source of RF emissions. As a young soldier it was always stressed to me (often physically) that transmissions were to be kept short, sharp and succinct, reducing transmission time to a minimum was and remains a key principle in RF signature management.
Faster switching, the use of software defined radios and AI has now enabled near peer forces to use even short bursts of transmission to locate you. The days of ‘spin and grin’ (if you know you know) of the enemy operator trying to find your transmissions are gone, the time this now takes is often measured in micro-seconds; of course we are also doing the same to them.
However, an amount of tactical communications are a necessity for an effective operational capability. This is unlikely to introduce a significant RF signature for forward deployed units with occasional communications and being often constantly ‘on the move’ or radio-silent if hunkered down, but is likely to introduce a noticeable and unavoidable signature for a Headquarters (HQ) element which by its nature is far more static. This is compounded by the need for an enhanced seamless passage of orders to and from both formation Headquarters and allies (NATO, coalition, etc.) to the tactical level. Each time radio rebroadcast (REBRO) stations are used the enemy receives a more detailed Recognised Electro-Magnetic Picture (REMP) of the joint force, which can be used to predict troop movements and asset location.
General Sir Roly Walker, UK Chief of the General Staff (CGS), has a vision to “field fifth generation land forces that set the joint force up for the unfair fight, filled with the best soldiers in the world, and tripling fighting power by 2030”. This joint force will;
- Fight with greater dispersal of force elements both for effect and survivability
- Sense twice as far, decide in half the time, use half the people and deliver effects over double the distance with half as many munitions (effects)
How is this to be achieved in the near future with legacy equipment and hardware?
Look out for my next article which will provide some solutions to not only satisfy CGS’ vision but to maximise the survivability of assets, through the use of RFoF solutions that embrace Open Standard Architectures for Remoted Antennae for Tactical Signal Management, enabling CEMA and the protection and survivability of both troops and high value assets.