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Inspecting an AN/ALQ-184 Electronic Attack Pod
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German Luftwaffe Tornado ECR


Electronic countermeasures (ECM) are a subsection of electronic warfare which includes any sort of electrical or electronic device designed to fool radar, sonar, or other detection systems like IR (infrared) and Laser. It may be used both offensively or defensively in any method to deny targeting information to an enemy. The system may make many separate targets appear to the enemy, or make the real target appear to disappear or move about randomly. It is used effectively to protect aircraft from guided missiles. Most air forces use ECM to protect their aircraft from attack. That is also true for military ships and recently on some advanced tanks to fool laser/IR guided missiles. Frequently is coupled with stealth advances so that the ECM system has an easier job. On aircraft ECM can take the form of an attachable underwing pod or could be embedded in the airframe. Active arrays radars like those mounted on the F-22, Eurofighter, MiG-35 (Fulcrum-F) or the F-35 can also act as an ECM device to track, locate and eventually jam enemy radar. Previous radar types were not capable to perform those activities because of: - the inability of the antenna to use suboptimal frequencies ; - the processing power needed; - the impossibility to practically intermix or segment antenna usages.

Offensive ECM often takes the form of jamming. Defensive ECM includes using blip enhancement and jamming of missile terminal homers.

ECM is practiced by nearly all military units—land, sea or air. Aircraft, however, are the primary weapons in the ECM battle because they can "see" a larger patch of earth than a sea or land-based unit. When employed effectively, ECM can keep aircraft from being tracked by search radars, surface-to-air missiles or air-to-air missiles.

Examples of dedicated electronic countermeasures aircraft

See also

References

countermeasure is a system (usually for a military application) designed to prevent sensor-based weapons from acquiring and/or destroying a target.

Countermeasures that alter the electromagnetic, acoustic or other signature(s) of a target thereby altering the tracking and
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Electronic warfare (EW) is the use of the electromagnetic spectrum to effectively deny the use of this medium by an adversary, while optimizing its use by friendly forces.
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Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain.
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SONAR (SOund NAvigation and R anging) — or sonar — is a technique that uses sound propagation under water (primarily) to navigate, communicate or to detect other vessels. There are two kinds of sonar — active and passive.
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aircraft is a vehicle which is able to fly through the air (or through any other atmosphere). All the human activity which surrounds aircraft is called aviation. (Most rocket vehicles are not aircraft because they are not supported by the surrounding air).
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For the weapon, see .


Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.

Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of considered and quality releases
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air force, in some countries called an air army, is a military or armed service that primarily conducts aerial warfare. It typically consists of a combination of fighters, bombers, helicopters, transport planes and other aircraft.
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Type Fighter aircraft
Manufacturers Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
Maiden flight YF-22: 29 September 1990 F-22: 7 September 1997
Introduction 15 December 2005
Status
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Type Multirole fighter
Manufacturer Eurofighter GmbH
Maiden flight 27 March 1994
Introduced 2003
Status Operational
Primary users Royal Air Force
Luftwaffe
Aeronautica Militare Italiana
Ejército del Aire

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Type Multirole fighter
Manufacturers Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Northrop Grumman
BAE Systems
Maiden flight 15 December 2006[1]
Introduction 2011 (scheduled)
Status Under development / pre-production

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Radar jamming and deception is the intentional emission of radio frequency signals to interfere with the operation of a radar by saturating its receiver with noise or false information. There are two types of radar jamming: Mechanical and Electronic jamming.
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Blip enhancement is an electronic warfare technique used to fool radar. When the radar transmits a burst of energy some of that energy is reflected off a target and is received back at the radar and processed to determine range and angle.
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surface-to-air missile (SAM) or ground-to-air missile (GAM) is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft. It is a type of anti-aircraft system.

Land-based SAMs can be deployed from fixed installations or mobile launchers.
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air-to-air missile (AAM) is a guided missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft. It is typically powered by one or more rocket motors, usually solid fuelled but sometimes liquid fuelled.
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Type Electronic-warfare
Manufacturer General Dynamics, conversion by Grumman
Maiden flight 1977-03-10
Retired 1998
Status Retired
Primary user United States Air Force
Number built 42
Unit cost
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Type Electronic attack
Manufacturer Grumman
Maiden flight 25 May 1968[1]
Introduced July 1971
Primary users United States Navy
United States Marine Corps
Developed from A-6 Intruder

The
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Type Electronic warfare
Manufacturer Boeing
Maiden flight 15 August 2006
Status Flight testing
Primary user United States Navy
Unit cost US$66 million
Developed from F/A-18F Super Hornet

The Boeing
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Type Ground attack
Electronic warfare
Manufacturer Panavia Aircraft GmbH
Maiden flight 14 August 1974
Introduced 1979
Status Operational
Primary users Royal Air Force
German Air Force
Italian Air Force
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Electronic warfare (EW) is the use of the electromagnetic spectrum to effectively deny the use of this medium by an adversary, while optimizing its use by friendly forces.
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Electronic Support (ES) is the division of electronic warfare involving actions taken under direct control of an operational commander to search for, intercept, identify, and locate sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition.
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Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) describes a variety of practices which attempt to reduce or eliminate the effect of Electronic countermeasures (ECM) on electronic sensors aboard vehicles, ships and aircraft and weapons such as missiles.
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