Fighting in the Electromagnetic Spectrum

Book excerpt: Naval warfare was confined for centuries to surface combat, or undersea clashes. In the twentieth century aerial warfare became the third domain and shortly thereafter, the electromagnetic spectrum also appeared. Until now, little has been written about this important aspect of military conflict on the high seas. In Fighting in the Electromagnetic Spectrum author Thomas Wildenberg provides the first book covering these aircraft, their missions, and the methodology of conducting combat in all its forms along this fourth domain, the electromagnetic spectrum. When navies began to make use of the airwaves, they soon discovered those waves could also be exploited as a source of information about the opposing force. This would later be termed Electronic Intelligence (ELINT). Navies learned the value of interrupting or corrupting the enemy’s communication signals that were transmitted in the “ether,” thus began a method of fighting termed Electronic Warfare (EW). Wildenberg cuts through the secrecy about this understandably mysterious domain of combat. He offers details on aircraft and methods and provides a layman’s set of definitions of terms. Wildenberg shares lessons learned from World War II skirmishes a as well as clashes in the Korean and Vietnam wars, while providing a Fighting in the Electromagnetic Spectrum offers the reader a foundational understanding of this complex form of combat in all its forms. This volume discloses rarely covered concepts and methods which will shape future great power future conflict.