At around 4:10 PM on the 29th, a report was received about a suspicious package suspected to be an explosive at Incheon Airport. The Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team of Incheon International Airport Corporation and the police special forces, who responded to the report, dismantled the suspicious explosive device and are currently collecting it for investigation.
[Kwangil Lee, Former Senior Researcher at the Agency for Defense Development] Electronic attack systems are electronic warfare systems that emit jamming signals, reflect electromagnetic waves, or emit flames against weapon systems using electromagnetic waves. They can be classified into defensive electronic attack systems and offensive electronic attack systems. Defensive electronic attack systems are operated for the purpose of protecting their own platforms and include self-protection electronic warfare systems, chaff/flares, expendable decoys, and deceptive decoys.
Self-protection electronic warfare systems are electronic warfare systems operated to survive by emitting jamming signals against physical attacks such as missiles or anti-aircraft guns. They are also called survivability systems and include aircraft-mounted types (such as Korea’s ALQ-200 and the U.S.’s AN/ALQ-135) and ship-mounted electronic warfare systems (such as Korea’s SLQ-200K and the U.S.’s AN/ALQ-32).
Aircraft-mounted self-protection electronic warfare systems emit jamming signals to protect aircraft from missile or anti-aircraft gun attacks. Considering the space and power available on the aircraft, they use jamming power levels sufficient to protect the aircraft, typically employing jamming outputs of 200W or more.
The most threatening weapon in the Iraq War, which began with the U.S. airstrikes in 2003, was the Improvised Explosive Device (IED). Unlike conventional bombs, IEDs can be detonated using devices such as cell phone alarms or washing machine timers. Since no electromagnetic signals are emitted from hidden bombs, their locations cannot be detected, and signals only occur for a brief moment when the remote control is activated, making prior detection impossible.
After the Iraq War, IEDs have also been effective in the Afghanistan and Syria conflicts. To counter them, broadband jamming signals in the HF to UHF frequency bands are emitted strongly in advance to detonate the bombs or broadband IED jammers are mounted on vehicles and other means of transport to emit jamming signals. In such cases, communication devices on the right side may be disrupted by the jamming signals, so design and operation must take this into account.
▲ Infrared Jamming= Infrared jamming systems emit jamming infrared signals to protect aircraft from infrared-guided missiles, which do not use electromagnetic waves. There are two types: omnidirectional jamming and directional jamming. Omnidirectional infrared jamming systems use infrared lamps to emit high-power infrared signals in all directions, protecting aircraft vulnerable to man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) such as helicopters.
Because they emit signals omnidirectionally, their output is low and jamming effectiveness is reduced, but they are used on aircraft where it is difficult to install missile approach warning systems. Aircraft equipped with missile approach warning systems can accurately detect the missile’s approach direction and thus use directional infrared countermeasure systems (DIRCM). DIRCMs provide high jamming effectiveness and use high-power lamps or high-power laser generators to emit strong infrared signals.
Chaff and flares are used to protect aircraft or ships from missiles. Chaff reflects electromagnetic waves from missile seekers or radars, creating false targets that appear to be aircraft or ships at different locations, thereby protecting the actual platforms. Chaff and flares are launched while the aircraft or ship is moving. Flares protect platforms from infrared-guided missiles by causing the missile to track the flare instead of the aircraft or ship, thus safely protecting them from missile attacks.
Expendable and deceptive decoys are launched from aircraft or ships and receive and amplify the electromagnetic waves from tracking missiles, then re-radiate them to deceive the missile about the location of the aircraft or ship.
On January 8, 2018, the Russian Defense Minister announced that on the nights of January 5-6, several Russian air force bases in Syria were attacked by multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Thirteen small UAVs were detected by the air defense networks of the Hmeimim Air Base and the Tartus Naval Facility; seven were shot down by short-range air defense systems, six were detected by electronic warfare equipment, with three landing outside the base and three detonating upon landing.
The Russian Defense Minister stated that the UAVs were launched from a location 100 km outside the Tartus base, guided by GPS and altimeters, and each UAV carried ten 400g improvised explosive devices. They were also equipped with video cameras and data links. Recent irregular and asymmetric warfare involves the use of commercially available drones and improvised explosive devices that can be made at home. However, since these are not fully autonomous platforms and use electromagnetic waves, the role and importance of electronic warfare have become increasingly prominent.
▲ Offensive Electronic Attack= Offensive electronic attack systems refer to active electronic attack systems that disable or delay integrated air defense systems from the early stages of the kill chain through remote electronic jamming or close escort electronic jamming. By effectively jamming early warning radars and target acquisition radars, offensive electronic attacks can fundamentally block the progression of the kill chain, such as missile launches.
By applying both defensive and offensive electronic attacks simultaneously, weapon systems can be jammed from the initial to terminal stages of the kill chain, effectively neutralizing integrated air defense systems. As seen in the Gulf War, securing air superiority early in the conflict by using remote electronic attack aircraft and communication jammers can enable a strategic advantage. Furthermore, performing communication jamming to isolate integrated air defense systems and disable command and control systems can provide an even more effective advantage in warfare.
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