Department of Defense

McRp 3-32d.1 Electronic Warfare Department of Defense

As the modern battlespace has become more sophisticated, military operations are executed in an increasingly complex electromagnetic environment. While military forces use the electromagnetic spectrum to detect and identify enemy forces and to perform communications, surveillance, and weapons systems operations, both military forces and civilians use the electromagnetic spectrum for communications, navigation, information gathering, processing, storing, and reporting. This overlapping usage of the electromagnetic spectrum complicates the military's use of its electronic equipment and the military's gathering and security of military information. Successful military operations now greatly depend on control of the electromagnetic spectrum. The force that can deprive the enemy the use of the electromagnetic spectrum, exploit the enemy's use of the electromagnetic spectrum to obtain information for its own purposes, and control the electromagnetic spectrum will have an important advantage. During a conflict, all commanders attempt to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum by targeting, exploiting, disrupting, degrading, deceiving, damaging, or destroying their opponent's electronic systems that support their military operations. Electronic warfare (EW) includes "any military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum or to attack the enemy." (Joint Publication [JP] 1-02) Electronic warfare is an important part of a military commander's arsenal of weapons. It allows a commander to provide electronic warfare support (ES), electronic attack (EA), and electronic protection (EP).