Improved Situational Awareness Regarding Electromagnetic Spectrum
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עברית (Hebrew)
Military forces have to manage an increasingly complex electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) at the tactical environment. This encompasses the entire field of electromagnetic radiation that surrounds us – infrared, radar, TV and radio waves, jamming systems, electronic warfare, etc.
A new software under development will give the operators of military hardware, including aircraft, situational awareness of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The U.S. Army is in the final stages of developing a software tool, the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool (EWPMT). Raytheon is currently developing the last stage of the technology under a contract with the US Army.
The tool is designed to plan, manage and control sensors and other systems in the electromagnetic spectrum to provide fighting forces with critical information on the crowded signal environment of a modern battlefield.
The framework will allow electronic warfare officers to analyze possible courses of action and to provide situational awareness for Army brigade combat team commanders.
Currently under development is Capability Drop 4 (CD4) – the last stage before the scheduled full operational capability in 2021.
Raytheon has delivered CD1 and CD2, and is working on CD3, targeted toward employment in a tactical environment against threats. CD3 includes the functionality of Raytheon’s Raven Claw, a mobile version of EWPMT that helps operators control signals in the field, “even without a host server or reliable connection to external data,” according to Raytheon. “Under the CD4 contract, Raytheon will continue to develop software and the user interface for a more connected, mobile system.”
Based on open architecture, the tool can be shared with other military services. The joint electromagnetic battle management (EMBM) architecture would help prevent “frequency fratricide” and give insights on how many unmanned aerial systems allied forces could employ in a given environment and how best to use their electromagnetic spectrum capabilities, as reported by aviationtoday.com.
EMBM is to provide an EMS situational awareness tool, not only for joint electromagnetic spectrum operations centers (JEMSOCs), but across the various echelons of military command.
