Electronic Warfare Fundamentals Course

Overview

Electronic Warfare Fundamentals (ERD 402) is a graduate-level course offered by the Military Technical College Radar Department. The course provides foundational knowledge of electronic warfare concepts, radar countermeasures, and electronic protection techniques.

Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ahmed Saleh, EEE - Department of Radar, Military Technical College

Course Structure

The 16-week winter semester course is designed for 4th-year students specializing in Radar & Guidance. The curriculum follows a building-block approach to facilitate student comprehension of essential subject matter.

Total Hours: 64 hours (3 lecture + 2 exercise + 1 lab per week)

Curriculum Overview

| Week | Theme |
|------|-------|
| 1-4 | Introduction & Electronic Counter Measures |
| 5-8 | ECM Techniques (Active jamming, passive jamming, active deception) |
| 9-10 | Radar Performance Under Jamming |
| 11-16 | ECCM Techniques and EW Receivers |

Key Topics Covered

Chapter 1: Electronic Counter Measures (ECM)

Basic definitions and concepts
Components of defense systems affected by ECM
ECM missions: stand-off, stand-forward, self-screening protection, escort, mutual support
ECM priorities and employment considerations

Chapters 2-3: Active & Passive Jamming Techniques

Active Jamming:

CW (Continuous Wave) jamming
Impulse jamming
Spot noise jamming
Barrage noise jamming
Swept-spot noise jamming
Smart noise jamming

Passive Jamming:

Chaff deployment
Low-flying tactics
Evasive maneuvers

Active Deception Techniques:

False target generation
Range-gate stealer (RGPO)
Velocity gate stealer (VGPO)
Inverse gain modulation
Cross-eye angle deception
Formation angle deception
Blinking angle deception
Cross-polarization jamming

Passive Deception:

Chaff systems
Decoys (TALD, MALD)
Low observable techniques

Radar Range Performance Under Jamming

The course covers the effective radiated jamming power (ERP), effective radiated spectral density (ERD), and radar range equation modifications for burn-through range calculations under various jamming conditions.

ECCM Techniques:

Security Enhancement:

Frequency camouflage
Confusion techniques
Deception countermeasures
Masking techniques

Survivability Enhancement:

Burn through technique
Receiver overloading prevention via feedback AGC, feed-forward AGC, programmed AGC (STC), and logarithmic reception

Interference Immunity:

Signal discrimination techniques including frequency agility, narrowband long pulse, antenna manual positioning, track coast, jamming strobe indicators, and various discrimination methods (pulse duration, angle, bandwidth, Doppler, time)

EW Receivers:

Classification of intercept receivers
Parameters measured by EW receivers
Instantaneous Frequency Measurement (IFM) receiver operation
IFM with multiple correlation
Frequency digitizing window techniques

Assessment Structure

| Component | Weight |
|-----------|--------|
| Control Test 1 | 15% |
| Control Test 2 | 15% |
| Teacher Opinion | 10% |
| Final Exam | 60% |
| Total | 100% |

Course Objectives

Upon completion, students will be able to:
1. Evaluate ECCM capabilities of different radar and guidance systems
2. Differentiate between various hostile ECM techniques
3. Calculate the effect of jamming on radar performance (maximum detection range)
4. Understand mutual effects and interrelationships between ECM, ECCM, and ESM measures

Related Resources

This course content complements broader NPWA knowledge about neurocognitive civil rights, particularly in understanding how electromagnetic warfare systems operate and their potential impacts on human cognition when directed at populations.

The course material provides foundational context for understanding the technical capabilities of radar-directed weapons that may be employed in cognitive warfare scenarios, including:

neurological-effects-of-microwaves — Understanding RF exposure effects relevant to EW operations

cognitive-electromagnetic-warfare — Military capability targeting human consciousness through electromagnetic means

nonlethal-weapons-bioeffects-framework — Three foundational requirements for NLWs with bioeffects analysis as the critical foundation

international-neurocognitive-rights-framework — Comparative analysis of international approaches to electromagnetic field exposure standards