Counter-battery radar: a more resilient solution?
AOC Europe is on the horizon with Germany hosting this rotation in Bonn, 15-17 May 2023. An important event in the Electronic Warfare (EW) and Electronic Support Measures (ESM) diary – the show provides a great opportunity to connect government, defence, industry and academia to consider the latest advances in these fields.
The theme this year covers the five operational domains that need to be considered in multi-domain operations, with sessions dedicated to integrated technologies and solutions. The current technologies and systems deployed by the Russians in Ukraine will also be the subject of a dedicated session, with a focus on the use of the EMS for achieving military objectives and the countermeasures it supports.
Counter-battery radar has been high on the defence agenda since February 2022, as there has been continuous effort from both sides to neutralise the adversary’s counter-battery radar systems. Just recently, Ukrainian Special Operation Forces footage was released showing a Russian ZOOPARK-1M counter-battery radar being destroyed in the Donetsk area.
These systems act as a significant force multiplier, providing real-time information about the location, trajectory, and impact point of incoming enemy fire; allowing friendly forces to take evasive action and to return fire with greater accuracy and effectiveness. However, counter radar systems are not without their limitations. Frequency hopping, waveform diversity, and other methods of signal processing can help to overcome jamming or other forms of interference. However, the electromagnetic signature of counter-battery radar systems make them particularly vulnerable to passive ESM solutions that can detect and identify radar.
One of the many benefits of the MicroESM radar detection and identification system that ESROE will be showcasing on Stand G12, is the fact that the receiver units are passive. The breakthroughs we’ve made in this space means that the MicroESM unit is so small, with a low enough unit cost, that it can be deployed in high volume too. This makes the solution highly versatile and highly resilient, as the units can be networked into an intelligent array along borders, coastlines and battlefields.
ESROE’s radar detection and identification system redesign, now means military ESM capability can be scaled from individuals or small teams, such as special forces, to larger EW capabilities across traditional high value platforms – completely changing the way that ESM contributes to the safety of armed forces in hostile environments.
As MicroESM has been defined to be fundamentally automatic, training is minimal and users do not have to have an electronic warfare background. Required user skill levels have always been problematic for ESM – and this has often been a subject of conversation at Association of Old Crows. But ESROE is changing all that.
The low cost and intelligent automation is also opening up ESM to civilian applications, for the first time. And as AOC Europe focuses on multi-domain integration and combining capabilities, the ESROE team is looking forward to conversations about how MicroESM contributes to the strategy.
If you’re heading to AOC Europe, head to stand G12 to see for yourself, our latest advances – or get in touch for a demo and more information.