Blog #999
Electronic Warfare Weekly Report for 5 December 2014
ARMY
Army Testing Improved Electronic Jamming Technology
Military.com, 2 Dec 14, Kris Osborn
The Army is testing a series of new electronic warfare technologies designed to address a wider range of threat signals in the electromagnetic spectrum, service officials said. Electronic warfare can be used for a wide range of combat functions to include jamming or thwarting an electronic signal used to detonate an IED, identifying enemy communications or electronic signals, and attacking or disabling enemy electromagnetic signals. The new EW technologies are being engineered to detect, respond to and operate in a wider range of frequencies to provide commanders with more offensive and defensive options. They are being designed as upgradable hardware and software that can accommodate new threat information as emerging signals are learned, Army officials said.
Laser defense system under test at White Sands
DVIDS, 1 Dec 14, John Hamilton
A possible future of Army laser weapons is undergoing testing on White Sands Missile Range. The High Energy Laser Mobile Demonstrator, or HEL-MD, is a proof of concept weapon system designed to demonstrate how a laser system can be developed into a tactical, mobile platform that can be deployed and used in the field. Not an adopted Army weapon system, the HEL-MD is a test bed that is being used in various test environments and scenarios to evaluate the capabilities and determine what a system like it can do, and how it can be further developed. “This is an Army science and technology program, it is a demonstrator. It’s not a fieldable system yet, but it is truly a test article for the follow on to a potential program of record,” said Gary Hunter, test operations lead from the U.S. Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command. The testing is being conducted at WSMR’s High Energy Laser Systems Test Facility, or HELSTF, as well as at a few specialized locations on the range with HELSTF support.
JOINT
High-tech monitoring keeps U.S. secure
New Jersey Star-Ledger, 30 Nov 14, Unattributed
The digital age has made online information widely available both for good and bad purposes. When it comes to the nation’s security, monitoring, tracking, securing and analyzing digital data is a key factor in defending intelligence networks. Creating a line of cyber warfare defense is the U.S. Navy’s responsibility, which has a community charged with mastering the capabilities, tools and techniques required to effectively collect, process, analyze and apply information.
Airstrikes Continue Against ISIL in Syria, Iraq
DoD.mil, 1 Dec 14, U.S. Central Command
U.S. military forces continued to attack Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant terrorists in Syria using fighter, bomber and remotely-piloted aircraft to conduct 27 airstrikes Nov. 28 through today, U.S. Central Command officials reported today. Separately, officials said, U.S. and partner-nation military forces conducted 28 airstrikes against ISIL terrorists in Iraq Nov. 28 through today using attack, fighter, and remotely-piloted aircraft.
Pentagon to Begin Drafting Technology Roadmap
National Defense Magazine, 3 Dec 14, Sandra I. Erwin
The Defense Department is seeking to recapture the technology magic of decades past that propelled the United States to become the world’s only superpower. The Pentagon’s new effort to spur innovation is casting a wide net in hopes that outsiders in the private sector and academia can help inject new thinking into weapon programs and investment plans. “We recognize that all good ideas don’t originate in this building,” said Stephen P. Welby, deputy assistant secretary of defense for systems engineering.
GLOBAL
Inside North Korea’s elite cyberwarfare unit
CNBC, 1 Dec 14, Heesun Wee
As Sony Pictures looks for a possible North Korea link to a cyberattack, there’s a nagging question. Does the poor country even have advanced technology capabilities to infiltrate a large corporation? The answer is yes. The isolated, communist nation has been pursuing cyber-strategies as far back as the 1980s. North Korea more recently has targeted a bank, university and media websites, according to prosecutors. The rogue state possesses drones and electronic warfare tools to create digital quiet zones. The regime also nurtures and trains its brightest to become cyberterrorists—based in North Korea and possibly even China.
China’s Poly Group unveils WB-1 directed-energy crowd-control weapon
Jane’s Defence Weekly, 27 Nov 14, Richard D Fisher Jr.
The China Poly Group Corporation used the recent Airshow China 2014 to reveal its WB-1 millimeter-wave beam- projecting non-lethal anti-riot system. Similar to Raytheon’s Active Denial System (ADS), the Poly WB-1 projects the millimeter-wave beam to heat water molecules just below the skin, resulting in intense pain. Chinese reports note that it has an effective range of 80 m but with increased power its range can be increased to 1 km. The United States revealed the ADS in 2007. While it was deployed to Afghanistan in 2010, and military commanders repeatedly requested its use, the system has yet to be used in combat due to fears of fuelling enemy propaganda.
Electronic Warfare Battalion officer: We are in a race against time
The Jerusalem Post, 3 Dec 14, Yaakov Lappin
The IDF’s offensive Electronic Warfare Battalion is in a “race against time” against Israel’s enemies, a senior officer told The Jerusalem Post. The race is between the battalion, which is tasked with disrupting command and control and communications capabilities, and the terrorist organizations and enemy states that are upgrading their equipment continuously. “We saw our good capabilities in action during Operation Protective Edge,” the officer said last week. “Between wars, there is a race against time – a technological race. The other side swaps or upgrades its equipment. We have to follow these changes. After we complete an operation, we can’t rely on the assumption that nothing is changing.”
Report: Iran Hackers Infiltrated Airlines, Energy, Defense Firms
Defense News, 3 Dec 14, Joe Gould
An Iranian hacker group has breached airlines, energy companies, defense firms and even the US Navy-Marine Corps Intranet, according to the US cyber security firm Cylance. The firm says these attacks — dubbed Operation Cleaver — showcase a dangerous leap forward in Tehran’s cyber skills as it seeks to retaliate against Western cyber attacks on its nuclear program. The goal of these attacks was apparently infiltration and information gathering, with motives beyond intellectual property theft. “After tracking the Operation Cleaver team for over two years, we’re led to the inexorable conclusion: The government of Iran, and particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is backing numerous groups and front entities to attack the world’s critical infrastructure,” Cylance said in its 86-page report, released Tuesday.
Russia Aims to Cut NASA Dependence With Modernized Space Tracking Ship
The Moscow Times, 3 Dec 14, Unattributed
The Russian navy has begun modernizing a space tracking ship that will allow Moscow to monitor and communicate with its spacecraft in orbit without relying on U.S. help, news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday. The ship, called the Marshal Krylov, is the last of the Soviet Union’s sprawling tracking fleet, which was dismembered after the collapse of communism. Although Russia covers nearly one-eighth of the world’s landmass, its ability to communicate with satellites and spacecraft is limited to brief windows when they pass over Russian territory. To communicate with the International Space Station, for example, Russia’s space agency depends on the goodwill of NASA, which shares its communication and tracking network.
Pentagon Worries That Russia Can Now Outshoot U.S. Stealth Jets
The Daily Beast, 4 Dec 14, Dave Majumdar
American fighter planes are the fastest, most maneuverable jets in the world. But their weapons are becomingly increasingly obsolete—and that has some in the U.S. Air Force spooked. High flying and fast, the F-22 Raptor stealth jet is by far the most lethal fighter America has ever built. But the Raptor—and indeed all U.S. fighters—have a potential Achilles’ heel, according to a half-dozen current and former Air Force officials. The F-22’s long-range air-to- air missiles might not be able to hit an enemy aircraft, thanks to new enemy radar-jamming techniques. The issue has come to the fore as tensions continue to rise with Russia and a potential conflict between the great powers is once again a possibility—even if a remote one.
OF INTEREST
Cyberattacks in Space: We Must Defend the Final Frontier
Newsweek, 27 Nov 14, David Livingstone
On November 12, The Washington Post reported that the U.S. satellite weather network had suffered an electronic attack, forcing cyber-security teams to “seal off data vital to disaster planning, aviation, shipping and scores of other crucial uses.” The attack resulted in an “unscheduled maintenance” of the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s data feed for weather forecasts. Although the maintenance required had only a small impact on weather forecasts, the hack has highlighted a vulnerability in satellite systems that reaches far beyond the meteorological community. There are now many hundreds of satellites orbiting the Earth, with many built and controlled by commercial concerns, possessing capabilities that hitherto have been found only in the defense or special intelligence communities. The U.S. government’s recent decision to loosen its export control restrictions on satellite technologies to allow private sector capture of 25cm-resolution imagery shows the importance of the market forces in play.
Detroit power failure raises alarms across the country
USA Today, 2 Dec 14, William Welch
The power failure that plunged Detroit’s schools, fire stations, traffic signals and public buildings into darkness Tuesday reflects a larger problem of aging electrical infrastructure around the country that has worried experts for years. The chaos of unexpected power loss is all too familiar for people who work in downtown Detroit. Its aging municipal system was responsible for major power failures that caused blackouts in 2010, 2011 and 2013. But the problem is not isolated to one city. A series of federal and private studies raise alarm bells about the power distribution system nationally, saying it is plagued by aging equipment with high failure rates, obsolete system structures and outdated engineering.
House passes bill to mitigate threat of EMP attacks
The Hill, 1 Dec 14, Cristina Marcos
The House on Monday passed a bill to require the Department of Homeland Security to include the threat of electromagnetic pulse events in national planning scenarios. Passed by voice vote, H.R. 3410 would direct the agency to conduct a public education campaign about the threat of electromagnetic pulse (EMP) events and authorize research into its prevention and mitigation. An EMP is a burst of electromagnetic energy caused by a nuclear weapon or solar storms.
McCain Ready To Tackle Cyber Threats, Cost-Plus Contracts as SASC Chairman
Defense News, 3 Dec 14, John T. Bennett
Sen. John McCain is 78 years old. But that doesn’t mean cyberspace escapes him. The Arizona Republican and incoming Senate Armed Services Committee chairman says in all his years in Washington — 31 total — the cyber issue holds a special distinction. McCain told a forum here Wednesday that of all the meetings he has attended on a long list of issues, none has less action happened afterwards than on threats emanating from cyberspace. That’s why, when asked by a conference moderator about his top agenda items for his coming SASC chairmanship, cyber ranks among the top three.
Filed under: Information operations
