Armada Analysis - Podcasts (Thomas Withington)

The United States and Soviet Union poured billions of dollars into signals intelligence satellites during the Cold War.

These spacecraft were an invulnerable and invaluable means of collecting signals intelligence from their rivals.

Yet much of their work was in secret. Today, three decades on from the end of the Cold War, we are starting to learn more about the work of these satellites as documents are declassified and experts share their stories.

In our latest Electronic Warfare Podcast, we chat to Dr. Dwayne Day, a space historian who has written extensively on Cold War space SIGINT gathering.

In our latest Armada Electronic Warfare Podcast we catch up with Anthony Nigara of L3Harris to discuss how multifunction EW can help Multi-Domain Operations.

Descriptions differ but broadly speaking Armada defines Multi-Domain Operations, known as ‘MDO’ in Pentagon parlance, as integrated operations with sea, land, air and space forces at the tactical, operational and strategic levels enhanced by the integration of personnel, sensors and platforms for the rapid sharing of data.

This integration is intended to allow friendly forces to navigate the famous OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) loop of strategist Colonel John Boyd at a quicker pace than one’s adversary.

In our latest Armada EW Podcast, we chat to Anthony Nigara, vice president of strategy and business development in L3Harris’ space and airborne systems division. He shares his views on multifunction electronic warfare and what it can contribute to MDO.

The concept of operations philosophy is migrating to the world of defence system research, design and development.

Traditionally the Concept of Operations (CONOPS) approach is associated with a commander’s intent on the battlefield. What are their goals, how will they be achieved and what are their assumptions?

In our latest podcast, we catch up with Mack McKinney of smoothprojects.org. Mr. McKinney is an experienced teacher who has trained thousands of students during his career. He specialises in applying the CONOPS approach to system design and development. He shares with us how CONOPS can help the realisation of complex systems, particularly in the electronic warfare domain.

Armada is proud to launch our new Radioflash podcast. Blending our electronic warfare and military communications podcasts Radioflash covers all aspects of military electromagnetic spectrum use.

Fittingly, our first guest is Dr. Bleddyn Bowen, associate professor of international relations at the University of Leicester. He is the author of two books on the militarisation of the cosmos: War in Space: Strategy, Spacepower and Geopolitics and the recently published Original Sin: Power, Technology and War in Outer Space.

Space has never been more important to the military. The heavens host spy satellites collecting intelligence and communications satellites letting navies, armies and air forces keep in touch. Yet space is competitive. The US and her allies depend on it as do their rivals Russia and the People’s Republic of China. Anti-satellite weapons risk spacecraft safety. Meanwhile the private sector is taking on a host of missions once the preserve of the military. We sit down with Dr. Bowen to talk about these vexing challenges.

In this episode of Radioflash! we explore how the war between Israel and Hamas could unfold in the electromagnetic spectrum.

On 7th October, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a series of devastating raids on numerous targets in Israel. As of late October, is it believed that these attacks have killed over 1,400 people. Over five thousand have been injured and Hamas has abducted in excess of 200.

The surprise attack seemingly caught Israel’s government, her military and security services unaware. Inevitably, this has prompted questions regarding the extent to which these institutions failed to anticipate the actions of Hamas.

Israel is known for employing one of the most comprehensive signals intelligence capabilities in the world, and the Israeli military’s electronic warfare attributes are among the best.

How is the war between Hamas and Israel being fought in the electromagnetic spectrum and how could this conflict develop as Israel’s actions against the militants unfold.

For this episode of Radioflash! we are joined by Colonel Jeffrey H. ‘Fisch’ Fischer. Col Fischer is a European and global security expert, and author of the Curt Nover series of thrillers.

We will be asking how the Israeli intelligence community seemingly either missed warnings that the attack was going to take place, or failed to act on those warnings? How did Hamas’ intelligence picture seemingly work so efficiently in allowing the organisation to pull off such an audacious attack? What effect will anticipated subterranean warfare in Gaza’s conurbations have on Israel’s application of electronic warfare? Join us as we explore these questions and more.

Although much of the world’s attention is distracted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Syria’s civil war may have entered its end game.

Russia and Turkey have incorporated electronic warfare as an integral part of their operations in Syria’s Idlib Government in the north of the country. Armada’s EW podcast examines the EW equipment, tactics and doctrines both sides have brought to bear in what may be the conflict’s decisive phase.

Ahmed Al Khoori, senior vice president, Strategy & Excellence, EDGE Group talks to Asian Military Review Editor-in-Chief ahead of exciting announcements at the Dubai Airshow.

We are delighted to launch Armada’s new series of Military Communications podcasts. In our first episode we dive into the world of Multiple-In, Multiple-Out radio.

Better known as MIMO, this innovative tactical communications technology is making its presence felt in the defence sector. However, you may be unaware of MIMO and how it operates? Jack Moore, vice president of business development for US special operations command and the US Army at Persistent Systems explains how this technology works. Persistent Systems is a leader in MIMO technology for the military and civilian markets.

The EMSOpedia is a welcome edition to the canon of electromagnetic support operations literature. It is the subject of our latest Armada EW podcast.

Electronic warfare is notorious for its complex lexicon. As part of its 70th birthday celebrations Elettronica has developed the EMSOpedia (Electromagnetic Support Operations Encyclopedia). This valuable online resource is a one-stop shop for clear and concise definitions of electronic warfare terminology. 

In our latest EW podcast we catch up with Daniela Pistoia, Elettronica’s corporate chief scientist, and head of the EMSOpedia’s scientific committee. She tells us about the EMSOpedia’s scope and how members of the EW community can get involved with the project.

The ever-present threat of MANPADS attacks on civil aircraft continues to concentrate minds around the world and is the subject of our latest Armada EW podcast.

Since 1978 293 people have lost their lives in during attacks on civilian aircraft executed by Man-Portable Air Defence Systems. Bird Aerosystems produces self-defence equipment designed to protect civilian and military aircraft against these threats. Mr. Mazor shares his thoughts on the trajectory of the civilian counter-MANPADS market, its drivers and restraints in our latest Armada International Electronic Warfare podcast.

Israel’s ongoing military operations in the Gaza Strip have once again highlighted the perils and pitfalls of urban electronic warfare, much as US-led operations in Iraq did several years earlier.

In episode 8 of the Radioflash! podcast, we chatted to Colonel Jeffrey H. ‘Fish’ Fischer, a European and global security expert, and author of the Curt Nover series of thrillers. Fish talked about the Electronic Warfare (EW) implications of Israel’s ongoing war in the Gaza Strip. This discussion generated significant interest and prompted an old friend of the podcast, Major Erik Bamford, to get in touch. Maj. Bamford is the Norwegian Armed Forces’ staff officer for electronic warfare and the Association of Old Crows’ director of region 1. Region 1 covers Africa, Europe and Middle East.

In this episode, we discuss the unique challenges inherent in performing EW in built-up areas. Maj. Bamford outlines the current state-of-the-art regarding the general literature on urban warfare. He talks about the place of electronic warfare within wider theories and approaches to urban combat. It is noteworthy, he says, that there is a paucity of dedicated texts looking at the peculiarities of EW in built-up areas. The examination of urban EW has tended to focus on electronic warfare’s role in the counter-improvised explosive device battle.

Meanwhile, troops must fight in a complex built-up environment home to hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Radio Frequency (RF) emitters. To further complicate matters, radio waves have strange behaviours in urban environments, bouncing off hard surfaces and working badly underground. Certain building materials either reflect or absorb RF in particular ways. These phenomena only serve to further complicate the EW cadres’ work in the urban environment.

Maj. Bamford is keen to work with other EW practitioners who share his interest in urban electronic warfare and he can be contacted via the Armada website.

We are proud to present Armada’s first Electronic Warfare Podcast!

We catch up with Shaun Vickers, business development manager at MASS, who shares his thoughts on the challenges facing electronic warfare practitioners regarding the suppression of enemy air defence mission.

Multi Domain Operations is a phrase thrown around with abandon, but just what does it mean? We talk to Dr. Bill Conley, Mercury Systems’ chief technology officer to find out.

Is MDO just a the latest series of buzzwords or a decisive paradigm shift? The US Department of Defence defines MDO as the rapid and continuous integration of all warfare domains. What does this mean for soldiers, and how is MDO becoming a reality?

Is our fixation with the latest and greatest electronic warfare technology in danger of overwhelming our need to support and nurture the human factor?

In our latest Armada EW Podcast we catch up with Jim Kilgallen, president and chief executive officer of COMINT Consulting. We discuss the pitfalls that an over-reliance on the latest technologies at the expense of fostering human endeavour can bring to the communications intelligence domain.

Phase 1 of Russia’s war in Ukraine has ended, but battle rages on. Russia’s electronic warfare posture seems to be steadily strengthening as the conflict assumes a new direction.

Jeffrey Fischer has 30 years’ experience with the US military. He has worked as an EW officer and completed seven combat tours in Afghanistan, Iraq and the Balkans. His new novel Balkan Reprisal will be published this autumn.

In our latest podcast, we chat to Jeff about Russia’s use of electronic warfare in the Ukraine conflict so far, and how this could develop in the future.

How orbit and architecture combine to enable game-changing mission-specific capabilities.  

SES will shortly commence deployment of its second-generation Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) constellation, O3b mPOWER. Building on the technically proven and commercially successful O3b MEO operating since 2014, O3b mPOWER will deliver dramatic levels of increased throughput, flexibility, and secure, resilient connectivity, all with the low-latency inherent to its Medium Earth Orbit location.   

So why will this carefully designed system of satellites, gateways and terminals work so well, and what kind of global capabilities will it offer government customers in the Asia Pacific region?

The modern electromagnetic battlespace is becoming more distributed, more mobile and more lethal. As neer-peer adversaries continue to develop and deploy advanced electronic warfare capabilities – the ability for the warfighter to communicate and share data to achieve decision dominance in contested environments is mission-critical. Silvus Technologies Jimi Henderson joins Armada’s military communications webpage and monthly newsletter editor Dr. Thomas Withington on this special podcast to explore these dynamic challenges. Learn how Silvus Technologies is responding with new & uniquely integrated MANET radio solutions, manned/unmanned systems teaming and advanced LPI/LPD and Anti-Jamming resiliency capabilities that are empowering the warfighter to achieve Spectrum Dominance at the tactical edge.

Armada International and Asian Military Review Editor-in-Chief Andrew Drwiega talks with Shaun Schaper, Cobham’s engineering specialist, about how an issue called rotor shadowing led Schaper to co-develop a new service called SB-Helo X-Stream, which enables satcom to operate effectively through the rotor disc of a helicopter. 

Electronic Warfare has a new foe in the guise of the Covid-19 with microwaves harnessed as an effective tool to kill the virus.

Elettronica has developed the E4Shield virus inactivation system which is effective against Covid-19 and several other pathogens.

In our latest Electronic Warfare Podcast we chat to Simone Astiaso, Elettronica’s vice president of engineering and operations, about this new technology and its potential.

It is a truism of military theory that the road to victory is harder for the side which does not win and sustain air supremacy.

It is now over eighteen months since the Russian government commenced its second invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has seen the shattering of some military aphorisms and the affirmation of others. One that has stood this test of time is that the achievement of air superiority and supremacy is a prerequisite for victory.

To date, neither the Russian nor Ukrainian military has established air superiority, the overture to securing air supremacy. There are subtle, yet important differences between these conditions: Air superiority means one side largely prevents the other from using airpower. Air supremacy means that opposing airpower is all but nullified.

Suppression of enemy air defences forms a key part of what the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation calls the Offensive Counter-Air mission (OCA). In turn, OCA is the tactical embodiment of the quest for air superiority and supremacy. Russian and Ukrainian airpower has performed energetic OCA efforts, but air superiority remains elusive for both sides.

In this podcast we are joined by Colonel Jeffrey H. ‘Fisch’ Fischer, a European and global security expert, Ukraine watcher and author of the Curt Nover series of thrillers. We discuss initial perceptions of Russian airpower and ground-based air defence strengths. Premature predictions of the ineffectiveness of Ukrainian airpower are questioned, while Ukrainian success in destroying Russian air defence systems are highlighted. Why is Russia’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum seeming to contribute to Russian Air Force fratricide? What role have uninhabited aerial vehicles played in the battle for air supremacy? Will the Link-16 tactical datalink be used by the Ukrainian Air Force and what effect might this have on the battle? Moreover, how is Ukraine’s military contributing to the ongoing OCA battle? Should Ukraine win the OCA battle, how might this achievement affect the wider war? All these questions fall under the Radioflash! spotlight. Tune in to find out more.

Space-based RF sensing and analysis is democratising thanks to the influence of the private sector, no longer solely the domain of those nations rich or ambitious enough to retain such capabilities.

We talk to John Serafini, CEO of Hawkeye 360 about commercial Radio Frequency (RF) collection and RF data analytics, and hear his perspectives on how this industry is developing, its customer base, and how these services my evolve in the future.

Diamonds have attributes which are useful for current and future defence electromagnetic applications such as quantum communications and navigation.

Diamonds have the highest thermal conductivity of any solid material making them particularly suitable for environments where temperature management is paramount. Electronic warfare, radar and military communications all depend on power amplifiers to transmit radio frequency energy. The more power you send through these amplifiers, the more effective these systems become. However, this can come with a heat penalty making the temperature tolerances of diamonds particularly useful.

Furthermore, diamonds are well-placed to contribute to the emerging field of quantum communications where individual defects in the material, commonly known as flaws, help such applications. Diamonds with specific defects to support quantum communications can be produced on demand. Defects can also support quantum sensing applications, notably magnetic field sensing. Magnetic field sensing could support navigation applications not depending on Global Navigation Satellite System constellations.

Element6 produces synthetic diamonds and details on how these are formed can be found here. The company is involved in a Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiative called LADDIS (Large Area Device-quality Diamond Substrates). LADDIS is examining ways in which laboratory-grown diamonds can be used in microelectronics.

If you want to learn more about the role diamonds play in defence electromagnetics? Tune in to our latest Radioflash! podcast. We will be chatting to Ian Friel, Element6’s business development programme manager and principal scientist Andrew Edmonds.

Milrem Robotics has made impressive strides in developing innovative robotics solutions for challenging environments.

Established in 2013, Milrem developed Type-X, which was the first RCV designed for unmanned operations, as well as the renowned THeMIS which is currently part of the robotics program in 16 countries. 

In this episode, we are joined by Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO and Founder of Milrem Robotics. Having recently joined the Platforms & Systems cluster of EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, Kuldar sheds light on Milrem’s growth strategy and ambitious autonomous and robotics roadmap, giving listeners a glimpse into the current trends in the UGV market and the future of robotic warfare.

One of the Cold War’s great ‘what ifs?’ was whether the United Kingdom’s V-Bomber nuclear deterrent force would have been able to reach and attack its targets in the Soviet Union.

In the 1950s and ‘60s, the Royal Air Force’s V-Bomber fleet was the custodian of Britian’s nuclear deterrent. A trio of aircraft, namely the Vickers Valiant, Handley Page Victor and Avro Vulcan series strategic bombers were all tasked to deliver nuclear weapons of varying yields to targets in the Soviet Union (USSR).

Should the Third World War have broken out, these aircraft would have flown to their aimpoints in the USSR across what was arguably the most heavily defended airspace in the world. How likely was it that these aircraft would have reached their targets, delivered their nuclear weapons and escape unscathed? Would the electronic countermeasures carried by these aircraft have successfully defended them against Soviet radar? Could the V-bombers adequately jam the radio communications Soviet air defences depend upon?

A new book by historian Dr. Tony Redding, entitled V-Bombers on Britain’s Nuclear Frontline, lifts the veil on aspects of the V-Bomber force that have hitherto been shrouded in mystery. In this Radioflash! podcast he joins us to tackle such questions and to share other results of his research on the UK’s nuclear deterrent. More details of Dr. Redding’s publications can be found on his website.

Keen-eyed readers of Armada’s military communications webpage may remember an article we ran in April that looked at tropospheric radio.

The article discussed the British Army’s recent acquisition of a tropospheric communications system. As the name suggests, tropospheric techniques exploit the troposphere. This is a layer of the atmosphere stretching up to 43,000 feet (13,106 metres) above the Earth’s surface. When aimed at an angle towards the troposphere, some radio signals can jump over the horizon reaching distances of up to 500 kilometres (311 miles).

Tropospheric communications are proving attractive for long-range military communications, joining their high frequency and satellite communications brethren. Why is tropospheric radio in vogue? What can it do that other forms of communication cannot? To answer these, and other questions, we are joined on this Radioflash! podcast by Daniel Gizinski, Comtech Telecommunication’s chief strategy officer.

Revolution is in the air in the Asia-Pacific as defence industrial sectors in the region change and adapt to new strategic realities.

In our latest Armada Electronic Warfare Podcast we catch up with Tate Nurkin, non-resident senior fellow with Forward Defence at the at the Brent Scowcroft Centre for Strategy and Security of the Atlantic Council. Mr. Nurkin recently authored a publication entitled The Five Revolutions: Examining Defence Innovation in the Indo-Pacific Region. This report, which is sponsored by Thales, examines how technological change is affecting the defence-industrial domain in the region, including in the electronic warfare sector. It employs Mr. Nurkin’s ‘Four Revolutions’ framework which he developed as a mechanism to understand and interpret dimensions of modern conflict and military competition.

FICINT is a useful tool to help us imagine how the future may unfold. It is particularly apt for those working in the electromagnetic spectrum where technology moves at breakneck speed.

Keen eyed members of our audience may remember an article we published in late November entitled Fast Forward the Future. This looked at the emerging field of Fictional Intelligence (FICINT). In 2021 the Royal Air Force commissioned a three-volume series of books to imagine the RAF in 2040. These looked at the challenges it, and the wider world, may face.

In episode 2 of Radioflash! we are joined by Peter W. Singer, an expert on fictional intelligence, founder and managing partner at Useful Fiction. He is also a New York Times bestselling author writing on technology and warfare.

Mr. Singer and your correspondent will be speaking at a panel event on 15th February discussing Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy. More details on Mr. Singer’s and his colleagues’ work can be found at useful-fiction.com. You can also purchase his books online and they are available in all good bookshops.

The importance of space as a domain of warfare is deepening. Since the dawn of the space age in the 1950s, militaries have exploited space for communications, espionage and strategic attack.

Despite the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, military demand for space is as strong as ever. The assertiveness of the People’s Republic of China and Russia is making space ever more strategically important. Expanding global military interest in the cosmos is impacting the electromagnetic environment. Actors seek to preserve access to their space-based assets while denying this to their rivals.

In this latest episode of the Radioflash! podcast we are joined by Juliana Suess, a research fellow studying space security at the Royal United Services Institute defence and security thinktank in London. We discuss counterpace weapons, both kinetic and electronic, and their long history. The influence of cyberwarfare as a counterspace weapon also falls under our gaze.

We examine the changing nature of counterspace warfare and the fact that attacks may no longer only be the preserve of nation states. We tackle the use of space Electronic Warfare (EW) during the ongoing war in Ukraine, and Russian capabilities. Moreover, the influence of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) jamming forms part of our discussion. We also talk about the steps that state and non-state actors can take to reduce their risks from space EW.

Information is a strategic resource, it always was, but with fake news and disinformation by nefarious actors very much on the agenda, its manipulation risks having a profound effect on our democracies.

How do we manoeuvre in the information space? What steps should governments and militaries be taking to ensure we are safeguarded against disinformation’s adverse effects? In our latest Radioflash! podcast we talk to Ewen Stockbridge, chief executive officer of 360ISR. 360ISR is an operational support company specialising in the field of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. We chat to Mr. Stockbridge about these challenges, and more.

Private sector satellite communications provision is paying dividends for Ukrainian forces in that country’s ongoing war.

In the wake of Russia’s Ukraine invasion on 24th February, thousands of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) terminals were shipped to Ukrainian forces.

Elon Musk despatched terminals to provide wideband internet coverage via his Starlink satellite constellation. His actions mirrored those of Viasat which had provided terminals before the invasion.

Both Starlink and Viasat experienced Russian cyberattacks but these were quickly rectified with software updates.

In our latest Armada MilComms Podcast we talk to Adam Bartosiewicz, vice president of WB Group about the provision of private sector SATCOM in Ukraine, and its tactical and operational significance.

As near-peer adversaries continue to develop and deploy advanced electronic warfare capabilities, the warfighter’s ability to operate in congested and contested electromagnetic spectrum environments has emerged as a critical need.

Silvus Technologies Jimi Henderson joins Armada’s military communications webpage and monthly newsletter editor Dr. Thomas Withington on this special podcast to examine the challenges of establishing and using tactical communications networks in congested and contested environments. We look at how Silvus Technologies is responding to those challenges to provide the security, speed, reliability, and electronic warfare resiliency needed to achieve Spectrum Dominance.

The Foxbat was one of the most feared and enigmatic aircraft of the Cold War. We chat to Mike Guardia, author of the new book Foxbat Tales: The MiG-25 in Combat about the aircraft’s innovative radar.

The MiG-25 (NATO reporting name Foxbat) combat aircraft first graced the skies in March 1964, entering service with the Soviet Air Force in 1970. Reaching top speeds of almost Mach Three (1,600 knots/3,000 kilometres-per-hour), the MiG-25 was a potent interceptor and reconnaissance aircraft.

For the Foxbat, speed was life. It had little in the way of self-protection, but it did have a mysterious radar under the nose. The Smerch series transmitted on an X-band frequency of 9.993 gigahertz/GHz, but had a secret dual band capability allowing the radar to also transmit on a Ku-band frequency of 14.9GHz.

In our latest Armada EW Podcast Mr. Guardia reveals what made the Smerch radar special, and how the West unravelled its secrets.

DSEI Japan 2023 Senior Military Advisor Air Vice Marshal (Ret) Gary Waterfall in conversation with Armada/AMR Editor-in-Chief Andrew Drwiega.

The RV Jones Institute is working hard to foster excellence in electromagnetic spectrum operations.

The institute takes its name from Dr. Reginald Jones, the assistant director of intelligence for science at the UK’s Air Ministry during the Second World War.

In this edition of Armada International’s Electronic Warfare podcast we catch up with Melinda and Steve Tourangeau. Ms. Tourangeau is the chair of the institute’s board of directors and the institute’s executive director, while Mr. Tourangeau is the institute’s dean. They talk to us about the organisation’s important work and how members of the electromagnetic spectrum operations community can get involved.

The US and her allies are embracing the Multi-Domain Operations philosophy with the Joint All Domain Command and Control System is at the heart of this endeavour.

Multi-Domain Operations, or MDO, focus on improving the pace and quality of decision-making at the expense of one’s adversary. The goal is to navigate the famed OODA (Observe, Orient, Decide and Act) loop at a faster clip than your enemy. Get MDO right and you will always be proactive while your opponent is forced to be reactive.

JADC2

The Joint All Domain Command and Control architecture, or JADC2, is the US Department of Defence’s networking and computing project that will enable MDO. JADC2 will see the inter- and intra-force connection of all personnel, weapons, sensors, platforms, subsystems and capabilities at all levels of war. The undertaking is ambitious. Reports say that since 2022 the Pentagon has spent up to $2.6 billion on JADC2. A further $9 billion could be spent on the initiative before the end of the decade.

In episode 15 of Armada’s Radioflash! podcast we talk to Leslie Hulser, executive vice president, corporate strategy of Persistent Systems. We examine the status of JADC2, what this overarching effort has achieved to date, potential problems and shortcomings, and the work that still needs to be performed.

A new authoritative report on Russia’s Western Military District gives useful insight on the air defence posture of this robustly defended region.  

In our latest Armada EW Podcast we chat to defence analyst and director of Rochan Consulting Konrad Muzyka.   

An expert on the Russian military, his new report entitled Russia’s Forces in the Western Military District (WMD) provides a much needed, detailed analysis of Russia’s military capabilities in the WMD. Of particular interest is the district’s air defence posture.   

Mr. Muzyka sheds some valuable light on these important, but often misunderstood, capabilities.

Cyber threats and attacks are staples of the evening news, yet how cyber warfare supports conventional military operations is less discussed.

The ongoing war in Ukraine has placed cyber warfare firmly on the agenda. A new book by Daniel Moore called Offensive Cyber Operations: Understanding Intangible Warfare is helping us understand cyber operations.

In our latest Electronic Warfare Podcast he talks about the relationship between cyber warfare and military operations, and reflects on Russian cyber operations in Ukraine.

The electromagnetic spectrum has never been so congested. This is only likely to get worse. Training is a key part of meeting this challenge as we explore in episode 3 of the Radioflash! podcast.

Ericsson predicted the world would have one billion 5G subscribers by early 2023. This could grow to five billion by 2028. As the ether gets more saturated, hostile actors have more places to hide their signals of interest. Moreover, new techniques like artificial intelligence are coming to the fore to help the electronic warfare expert find the signal in the noise. Joining us on the podcast to help make sense of these challenges is Taph Willumsen, head of training and cyber and electromagnetic activities, at MASS.

You have heard of hard kill, you have heard of soft kill, but what about SMART Kill?

Drawing on his operational experience in the Royal Navy, and time in industry, Alasdair Gilchrist, our guest on episode 16 of Radioflash! says we need to start thinking about how to engage threats without stovepipes.

Mr. Gilchrist, who has recently embarked on a new career as a consultant, has developed the SMART (Sensors and Measures Against Realistic Threats) Kill concept of operations. This takes the effects-based approach to prosecuting threats a step forward. He argues that traditional thinking about hard kill and soft kill approaches are becoming obsolete. The plethora of emerging threats militaries are facing, the Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) menace being a good example, is forcing this rethink.

Within the SMART Kill concept, sensing stresses the importance of threat comprehension. Are we understanding the real, and not the perceived, threat? This is particularly relevant on future battlefields where misinformation and disinformation risks clouding our threat sensing and comprehension. When engaging a threat, are we using our effects judiciously and responsibly? Should we be sending kinetics aloft to counter UAVs, when jamming may kill such threats just as effectively? The danger posed by swarms of UAVs aptly underscores this point. Can the SMART Kill approach allow us to use technologies which may not be exquisite, but which may perform the mission just as well, but at a fraction of the cost?

As the electromagnetic spectrum becomes more congested and contested so the EW practitioner’s work increases.

Human factors play a key role in Electronic Warfare (EW) but how do we empower EW practitioners to meet today’s and tomorrow’s challenges? How do the tasks of today’s EW practitioners differ from those of yesterday? What tools do today’s and tomorrow’s practitioners need to meet contemporary and future threats? To discuss these important subjects Armada’s EW Podcast chats to Dave Devine and Phil Guy of Mellori Solutions, a leading Australian EW company.

A recent article contained a startling revelation that US FARRAH satellites provided SIGINT to British forces during the Falklands War.

Taking its name from film and television icon Farrah Fawcett, America’s FARRAH Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) satellites were launched from 1982. That same year, the UK deployed forces to the South Atlantic to liberate the Falkland Islands from Argentine control following their invasion on 2nd April.

The article by space expert Dwayne Day revealed these satellites had provided SIGINT to the British military during the Falklands War. Mr. Day tells us more about this extraordinary revelation in our latest Armada Electronic Warfare Podcast.

Estonia is experiencing the challenges of Russian hybrid warfare first hand and is most likely in the direct path of any future military action by Moscow to reconstitute the former USSR.

Estonia is on the frontline of efforts by the Russian government to destabilise the governments, economies and societies of the Baltic nations. Like her other Baltic neighbours, the invasion and occupation of Estonia will be key to any future attempts by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to rebuild the former Soviet Union.

So-called ‘sub-threshold’ actions by Moscow, which aim to amplify destabilisation but are short of outright war, are occurring in the electromagnetic spectrum. Estonia has witnessed recent disruption to civil aviation strongly suspected to have been caused by Russian GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) jamming. GNSS jamming has also caused disruption to everyday life in Estonia. Ride sharing services and food deliveries are two consumer services affected by Russian GNSS attack.

At the same time, Estonia has faced regular and significant state-sponsored Russian cyberattacks. Barring a major political change in Russia, there are few signs that Moscow’s hybrid warfare against Estonia will cease any time soon.

However, it is not all bad news. Domestic science and technology ingenuity is playing its part. Estonia has world-class innovation focused on nullifying and reducing the severity of nefarious Russian actions in the spectrum. Tallinn’s strategy writ large is not just to prevent Russian invasion but to deter it.

In this latest edition of Armada’s Radioflash! podcast we chat about these and other issues with John Longhurst, chief executive officer of Tangent Link and longtime Estonian resident.

In our latest podcast we chat to Norm Wade, author of Cyberspace Operations and Electronic Warfare, and owner of The Lightning Press.

The Armada postbox was recently graced with the arrival of Norm Wade’s Cyberspace Operations and Electronic Warfare book. Published by The Lightning Press, of which Mr. Wade is the owner, the book is an excellent primer on these two facets of war.

Clear, concise and augmented with excellent diagrams and graphics, the book is an indispensable addition to the bookshelves of anyone with an interest in electronic and cyber warfare. The work is available both as an ebook and a paper copy. To learn more, and to order your copy, visit https://www.thelightningpress.com/smartbooks/cyberspace-operations-smartbook/

Tim Elliott, Head of Sales and Business Development, and Rob Hall, Product Management Lead at L3Harris in Tewkesbury and Fleet join Dr. Thomas Withington to address the many challenges presented by small UAS threats in today’s battlefield and explore how L3Harris’ CORVUS C-sUAS capabilities are helping to support such missions.

Author and historian Mike Guardia joins us to discuss his latest book Skybreak looking at the career of the US Air Force’s F-15Cs during Operation Desert Storm.

Mr. Guardia specifically looks at the McDonnell Douglas/Boeing F-15C Eagle combat aircraft flown by the US Air Force’s 58th Fighter Wing. These jets supported the air campaign accompanying the eviction of Iraq from Kuwait by a US-led coalition in 1991.

We talk about the important role of the aircraft’s electronic warfare systems and radars during their deployment. Mr. Guardia is an old friend of the podcast, having joined us back in November 2020 to discuss his book Foxbat Tales: The MiG-25 in Combat.

You can find paperback and ebook versions his new book here.

In our latest Electronic Warfare podcast, we catch up with John Longhurst, CEO of TangentLink, to talk about this year’s forthcoming EW Live event.

As previously, this year’s event will be held in the city of Tartu, southern Estonia. EW Live will run from 19th to 22nd September. The event will include live demonstrations, an exhibition and conference. More information regarding the event can be found on TangentLink’s webpage.

David Gledhill was a navigator on the Royal Air Force’s (RAF’s) McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom series fighter, and then on the RAF’s Panavia Tornado-F3 fighter.

He is now an accomplished author. He shared perspectives on his new Cold War thriller Infiltration, the latest in a series of books which puts the reader in the cockpit and in the middle of the action, giving a taste of what it was like to fly these iconic RAF fighters.

Multi-Domain Integration risks creating challenges for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control, but these are not insurmountable, argues Major Erik Bamford.

Once again, this year’s Association of Old Crows (AOC) Electronic Warfare Europe conference and exhibition was a resounding success. Held in the delightful city of Bonn, Western Germany, Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) was the event’s overarching theme. MDI sees the integration of all personnel, capabilities and bases across all services to perform synchronous operations at all levels of war. This risks creating headaches for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control. Major Erik Bamford, principle electronic warfare staff officer in the Norwegian armed forces and director of the AOC’s region 1 covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, made this the theme of his presentation. In this Radioflash! podcast, he explains how these challenges can be addressed and overcome.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are two much-heralded technologies set to revolutionise signals intelligence collection, processing and dissemination.

An increasingly congested radio spectrum is set to challenge the limits of human cognition in the search for the signal of interest. In this episode of Radioflash! we catch up with Patrick ‘Krown’ Killingsworth, EpiSci’s  director of autonomy projects.

We define the terms Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) and their unique capabilities. ML algorithms are trained on huge amounts of data which makes these algorithms great for processing huge amounts of data, a key requirement in Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). The application of AI and ML in SIGINT is not necessarily about replacing the human but helping the SIGINT operator sort these data. Nonetheless, the continuing introduction of AI and ML into SIGINT analysis prompts concern and enthusiasm in equal measure. Ensuring that enough data are available for training algorithms creates challenges given the paucity of data which the SIGINT cadre may be interested in.

We talk about the risks of using synthetic data for training and tackling the risk by anticipating potential problems from the start. AI- and ML-enabled SIGINT systems continue to get smarter, faster and more accurate. The future brings challenges in terms of moving this SIGINT technology from the strategic level to the tactical edge, although edge computing in the tactical domain should help no end in this regard.

The dangers of the electromagnetic pulse are back on the agenda, fortunately, technology is helping to mitigate this threat.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February and the accompanying nuclear sabre-rattling of her president Vladimir Putin is refocusing attention on the Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP). The EMP is a potentially devastating surge of electricity accompanying a nuclear explosion. It can wreck unshielded electronics and electrical systems. Meanwhile, the nuclear ambitions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran also bring the EMP threat into stark relief.

In our latest Armada International Electronic Warfare Podcast we discuss the EMP, how it is generated and steps that can be taken to reduce its effects. Our guests are electromagnetic pulse experts Davidson Scott of Emag Associates and Brad Face of The Face Companies.

AMR is delighted to present our second podcast. Editor-in-Chief Andrew Drwiega discusses the IDEX defence expo in Abu Dhabi with the EDGE Group's Miles Chambers, Director International Business Development.

The Gulf defence sector is expanding rapidly and the EDGE Group, a United Arab Emirates state-owned conglomeration of 25 companies providing military weaponry and related technologies is at the centre of this expansion. Miles discusses the technologies that EDGE is developing as well as the company's show highlights.

Chinese electronic warfare is an enigmatic subject. Important new research sheds light on how the People’s Liberation Army’s land forces see EW.

Sam Cranny-Evans is a research analyst at London’s Royal United Services Institute. He recently published some interesting new research on People’s Liberation Army (PLA) land forces electronic warfare. We catch up with with Mr. Cranny-Evans in our latest Armada EW podcast. We talk about the PLA’s EW doctrine and posture, and the importance of electronic warfare to the Chinese way of war. Mr. Cranny-Evans’ research can be found here.