Skill and cunning often trump weapons in electronic combat. That’s quite a story. Right here before us stands the Electronic Warfare Battalion. It is a key part of Vietnam’s defense. This battalion is a testament to Vietnam’s ingenuity in modern warfare.
The Electronic Warfare Battalion plays a crucial role. It helps to preserve the electromagnetic spectrum. This benefits Vietnam. It works to degrade the opponent’s electronic capabilities. The goal is disrupting their radar and communications. They even destroy enemy electronic assets if possible.
Imagine the intensity. A probing pulse from a radar is not just a signal. It’s a threat and an opportunity. The Electronic Warfare Battalion uses this. They can send an antiradiation missile down the beam. They can jam the radar screen. They can manipulate the signal. This feeds false information to the enemy.
Vietnam became a key place in the history of electronic combat. They used surface-to-air missiles. These linked to target-tracking radars. They shot down penetrating aircraft. The US fighters used ECM pods. These helped them avoid engagements. B-66 bombers became E models. These jammed North Vietnamese communications. In 1965, the Wild Weasels emerged. They stalked SAMs using lethal electronics.
Sometimes, going into Shrike launch sequence was enough. It intimidated SAM batteries. They shut off their radars. If the battery fired, the Weasel dodged behind a hill. This broke the radar lock. It used a classic maneuver. An afterburner dive with a hard turn. The missile couldn’t follow.
SAM operators learned to fake out the Weasels. They put up phony signals. They fired missiles generally. Then they turned on the tracking radar at the last moment. This corrected the trajectory. It was a deadly game of measures and countermeasures.
The objective isn’t always a direct duel. Electronic warriors pull the enemy off balance. This allows a main battle event to succeed. Attacking an enemy airfield is an example. Each side wants the electromagnetic spectrum. They use it for their own purposes.
The Soviet Union was prepared to conduct large-scale jamming. This degraded the opponent’s command and control. Airborne platforms included the 11-20 Coot-A and the An-12 Cub-C and D. These were modified turboprop transports. Ground-based jammers were assigned to radio-electronic combat battalions.
Brig. Gen. John A. Corder sorted Soviet technology. Systems from the 1960s and early 1970s were “poor to fair”. They were produced in large numbers.
In the 1980s, they had excellent technology. It was a look-down/shoot-down system. The numbers were fairly low. They probably won’t be significant until the early 1990s. There won’t be as many as before.
The US Air Force has made progress. It is better prepared for electronic combat. Its major electronic combat aircraft came into service recently. Most countermeasures equipment has been upgraded. The US can stretch out its lead. Electronic combat is part of USAF training. It prepares aircrews.
The EF-111A Raven disrupts early warning and GCI radars. It is effective against dense defenses. It can act as a stand-off jammer. The EC-130H Compass Call is a communications jammer. It works from standoff range. There aren’t many of them.
“First in, last out” is the Wild Weasels’ motto. They fly the F-4G variant of the Phantom. They carry the HARM. It has three times the range of the Shrike.
Defensive electronic combat is vital. Radar warning sets alert aircrews to danger. They report the threat’s nature.
The E-3 AWACS has an antijam radar. It has massive tracking power. It influences jammers, penetrators and defenders.
The Electronic Warfare Battalion doesn’t defeat the entire electronic order of battle. Emitters and radar-controlled weapons are numerous. The Air Force punches holes in the Soviet IADS.
The Air Force’s priority is self-protection equipment. Aircraft of the future will have internal countermeasures suites.
The struggle continues between wars. Each side seeks new advantages. They probe for revelations. The Soviet Union noted HARM missile hits on Libyan defenses.
Sometimes the best countermeasures are simple. An AC-130 gunship crew fired a Very pistol flare. The SA-7 missile went for the flare. The gunship went about its business.
The Electronic Warfare Battalion stands as a symbol of Vietnam’s resilience. Its ability to innovate ensures its continued relevance.