Hush-Kit spoke to Saab’s Richard Smith to get a better understanding of the Gripen E’s electronic warfare and defensive capabilities.

How does the Gripen E compare to its peers in terms of how comprehensive its defensive suite is?

Gripen E’s wide-spectrum Electronic Warfare suite provides the war fighters with powerful comprehensive Electronic Protection, Electronic Support and Electronic Attack capability, designed to counter any threats present in conflicts of today and the future. More than 40 apertures placed around the Gripen E airframe enable spherical warning, sensing and suppression, using smart collaborative techniques to ensure state-of-the-art survivability including missile approach warning (MAW), target acquisition and identification as well as electronic attack.

1. A highly integrated use of the AESA radar, RWR and electronic signal measurement can precisely detect, identify and geolocate all sources of radiated EM energy, including unidentified non-directly emitting sources. This enables a powerful and highly flexible combat intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (Combat ISTAR) capability, in class of the most modern peer western fighters, such as the F35.

2. What is Digital radio frequency memory jamming and how does it work? Is it necessary on the modern battlespace?

In modern combat air, the electronic jamming capability is one of essential instruments to successfully undertake combat winning operations. Two main jamming techniques are generally used; The first, electronic noise generation which is a jamming waveform designed to generate background noise on a radar receiver in order to mask a desired radar echo or spoof and conceal acquired targeting data, such as target range or doppler information. The second technique is multi-false target generation – also known as DRFM jamming. This is an active deception technique which creates multiple false echoes of real targets by sampling an incoming RF signal, digitally storing and recreating it while changing some or all of the parameters with the purpose of confusing the tracking radar, concealing real targets and to negatively affect an incoming missile’s probability-of-intercept. In Gripen E, these techniques and variants of them can be used in every platform autonomously, however what really makes the difference are the network enabled collaborative functions within the tactical formation. This allows whole new smart and flexible ways to fight, new novel tactics, techniques and procedures – to create situational awareness, suppress the enemy, ensuring successful survivability and lethality.
Powered by the new Human Machine Collaboration concept, the Gripen pilots are constantly supported by new unique decision support functions, using AI technology, machine learning and automated functions to predict outcome of events, propose the best course of action – to maintain low workload and full focus on the mission. To win the fight!

What are TRDs?

Towed decoy systems are used to protect military aircraft from radar-guided missiles. They provide a radio wave reflecting bait that attract RF-guided missiles away from the intended target. These counter measures, released from a pod or a hatch, can be towed behind a host aircraft protecting it against both surface-to-air and air-to-air missiles. Attached via a Fibre Optic link, used to send commands to the decoy RF emitter, it can produce electronic jamming required to spoof a missile away from the “parent aircraft”.
Generally, towed decoys are self-protection countermeasures. They can, however also be useful in a SEAD/DEAD scenario, where the decoy could simulate a large false target as bait for enemy SAM systems, while another aircraft can detect the sensor emission; identify, locate and attack.
Towed decoys are often called ‘first generation decoys’ as most developed towards the end of the Cold War. Today, modern tactical fighters, including Gripen E instead are equipped with expendable battery powered active decoys which provide off-board jamming capability, devices such as BriteCloud.

Do IR flares still work?

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Yes they do – flares, and other dispensed counter measures are still today an essential ingredient in the survivability of a fighter platforms; to effectively avoid, deny, deceive and defend against any threat during a combat mission, in fighter terms, the Live Chain.

One of the many unique features in a Gripen E fighter is its ability to carry extensive amounts counter measures. These include;

• Flares, both conventional two-colour and thrusted, to provide protection against the air-to-air and surface-to-air IR missile threat (on both the mid and near IR-regions)

• Chaff and hot chaff to provide protection against surveillance and tracking radars

• Active electronic decoys (AED) to provide protection against RF-guided air-to-air and surface-to-air missiles.

In Gripen E, proactive and reactive counter measure techniques are fully integrated with the platform’s sensor and system, enabling automated functions ensuring protection during all phases of a combat mission. Would a Gripen be engaged, for instance by a pop-up SAM threat, automated counter measures are instantly initiated. In addition, every Gripen in the tactical formation automatically start suppressing the threat with collaborative multi-aspect jamming. To enable maximum survivability effect.

Can an AESA be used for EW? If so, how?

Today, many modern fighters are using multiple arrays to generate efficient electronic warfare. In most cases, the main array for this is the nose radar. In Gripen E, highly sensitive active and passive techniques are used in new ways to provide electronic protection, – support and -attack. A single Gripen has the capability to autonomously use passive sensing to detect, identify and geolocate threats even when not being illuminated with associated radars. Active techniques include multiple modes of jamming, but also SAR-modes for efficient ground mapping and detection of fixed, moving and manoeuvring surface targets. The Gripen E’s Raven AESA enables high radiating power, very flexible interleaved simultaneous scanning and tracking in the air/land/sea. Its swashplate design give the Gripen pilots over the shoulder radar field-of-view capability, unique in its design allowing much increased flexibility of use compared to all other fighters today.

How survivable is a non stealth jet in the modern battlespace?

It is all about generating survivability, which can be done in different ways. As modern sensors evolve into the multi-spectrum, low frequency scanning and tracking as well as networked function. We must ask ourselves whether geometric stealth shaping is still really relevant? Many systems, specifically designed to detect ‘stealth’ are already fielded and operational in the east and the Indo-Pacific. These, used in a networked IADS enable much improved targeting and missile guidance capabilities against low observable platforms, now posing a real threat against these previously perceived as ‘undetectable’ aircraft.

For Gripen E, we have made the deliberate choice to create survivability with means of smart powerful Electronic Warfare. Every Gripen is equipped with highly effective sensors able to detect, identify, locate and suppress hostile sensor- and weapon systems. The new revolutionary avionics design where flight critical and tactical software have been separated, allow capability to control, adapt and optimize tactical system performance, hence offering whole new ways to rapidly response to any threat, to introduce new capabilities whenever needed.

What are the key technologies a modern fighter should carry for EW/and defensive countermeasures?

Modern radar and air defence systems are increasingly agile in their operation. Through the use of the latest technologies, agile networking and new adaptive operating methods, today’s fighter pilots are faced with extremely complex and volatile signal environments. This means that requirements of modern fighting units’ and their EW capabilities are very demanding. One way to overcome these challenges is the utilisation of Network Enabled Warfare, where sensors and systems, both on-board and on other platforms, work collaboratively. This enables the execution of the EW mission in totally new and efficient ways that are unpredictable from the adversaries’ perspective. The automated information exchange, combined with the highly evolved Human Machine Collaboration (HMC) in the Gripen E, delivers a decisive information advantage which ensures the right course of action at every moment of the fight. As a result, the system guarantees unique situational awareness, optimized survivability and lethality and, maximized mission success for every mission.

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As a result of the above and Gripen E’s open architecture, advanced software methods/techniques and the functional partitioning of flight and mission critical functionality, Gripen is designed to be easily adaptable as new capabilities can be rapidly introduced to the system as and when new threats arise and as new technologies evolve. This will ensure Gripen E’s continuous operational relevance through life of the platform and gives Gripen E all the necessary capabilities to control the Electro-Magnetic spectrum and deliver Air Dominance in high threat environments for decades to come.