The probable role of electronic warfare (EW) and cyber attacks in potential future Russia-Ukraine conflict
WASHINGTON – When Russian forces occupied Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in February 2014, the Russian Navy reportedly jammed cell phone signals in the process. This kind of attack, paired with the physical destruction of communications infrastructure is broadly categorized as electronic warfare (EW). Popular Science reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
22 Feb. 2022 -- War is still primarily an undertaking involving bombs, bullets, and broken bodies, but the placement of those bombs and bullets is increasingly shaped by fights waged in the RF and microwave spectrum. Electromagnetic warfare is often paired with attacks on computer systems carried out over the internet, which are broadly called cyber attacks.
Understanding how modern wars are fought means understanding the invisible fights waged by electronic signals and via computer cyber warfare.
If Russia does launch an attack on Ukraine, as the mass of Russian forces that have been assembled for months along their shared border suggest it might do, electronic warfare will likely be part of the attack, as it was when Russia occupied parts of Ukraine in 2014. The 2014 occupation included the Russian capture of Crimea, complete with physical destruction of communication links to the rest of the country, and led to Russian support for two self-declared breakaway republics of separatists in Eastern Ukraine.
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics
