SP's Land Forces Jun-Jul 2009

Page 6

Te chnolog y

ELectronic INTelligence The surveillance of the electromagnetic environment represents one of the main tasks of a nation’s military commitments and its basic purpose is two-fold: prevention and defence

T

he surveillance of the electromagnetic (e.m.) environment represents one of the main tasks of a nation’s military commitments and its basic purpose is two-fold: prevention and defence. The term ELINT (ELectronic INTelligence) is commonly used when the surveillance function is confined to noncommunication type emissions, such as radar emitters.

Passive Sensor

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Passive Sensor

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To perform the above function, a specific Passive Sensor has been designed that operates primarily in the radar bands. Moreover, the need of covering wide areas and acquiring inside , accurate and reliable information on the opponent’s EOB, requires the use of several Passive Sensors connected in a network arrangement and coordinated by a Supervisor Working post. The latter that can assign specific tasks to each operator (depending on high level

Passive Sensor

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Passive Sensor

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AIR DEFENCE

ELINT NETWORK

Supervisor WP

EWAC

Higher Level Command

Block Diagram of a typical ELINT Network Configuration

The objective of prevention is to gain knowledge on the “radar” resources of a likely opponent for the purpose of determining and updating the deployment of the radar-associated weapon systems (known as Electronic Order of Battle - EOB), tracking of moving emitters, building up a local (and regional) air picture, in a selected area of interest and supplying this information to higher level commands for use at both tactical and strategic levels. Moreover, this function can be exploited also for defence purposes (ESM), since the surveillance of the e.m. environment allows detection of “threats” located “deep” in the “opponent’s” territory and thus to exploit this vital early warning information in order to effectively counter any likely aggression. The most appropriate technical solutions to meet the country’s comprehensive passive surveillance requirements could be the adoption of mobile land-based systems that can operate from fixed or mobile sites

Passive Sensor in armoured vehicle configuration

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SP’S LAND FORCE S 3/ 2 0 09

operational requirements), such as: specific analysis of emitters, triangulation, reporting specific threats inside or outside of a selected area, tracking of moving emitters, cooperation for air picture building and/or updating, etc.. The Supervisor is typically connected to a higher level command. For ELINT purposes, all the acquired data (i.e., processed, intra-pulse, interpulses) is sent to a control centre (Electronic Warfare Analysis Centre: EWAC) for analysis and national Database and libraries upgrading. The use of a Passive Sensor network allows better emitter correlation for location and identification purposes and typically features a link to a higher level command for transferring both the EOB and detected emitter characteristics; this information is vital for both national data base updating and decision making purposes. The extensive use of Electronic Mapping System consents a very powerful display of the “operational scenario” in terms of

EWAC Internal Layout (Vehicle Installation)

deployment of the sensors, Passive overall sensor area coverage, EOB, routes of tracked moving emitters, etc. The Passive Sensor can be installed in fixed sites and/or shelters or armoured vehicles. These sensors can operate in standalone mode or can be fully remotable and controlled from an operator work post located in accordance with operational requirements. Each sensor can perform master or slave functions for triangulation purposes. The EWAC can also be installed in either fixed sites or mobile facilities. ELETTRONICA S.p.A. has acquired a long standing experience in the design and development of EW Systems to meet even the most demanding Customer ELINT requirements. The company’s ELINT Network is based on the ELT/888 Systems Family of Passive Sensors, the latest generation of ELINT systems for Data Collection (of radar emissions) and Surveillance (of the e.m. scenario), that can effectively perform the required functions by exploiting such unique features as: • high sensitivity interception (can intercept radar emitters even some hundreds of Km deep into enemy territory) • high measurement accuracy • high accuracy signal analysis; • high capability to operate in dense, complex and a-priori unknown e.m. scenarios; • automatic identification and classification of emissions; • modern and user-friendly Man/Machine Interface (based on window applications) • high level of interaction with a network Supervisor • high “interoperability”

Sensor in armoured vehicle configuration

ELINT Network are: • Tasks assignment for the Passive Sensors • Real-time data collection by EWAC of the information acquired by the Sensors • Acquiring, displaying and real-time updating of the processed threat scenario on digital Maps; • Monitoring of e.m. scenario evolution; • Correlation of the acquired information (Off-Line Analysis) for creating/updating Data Bases • Tracking of mobile emitters and route plotting on Maps • Capability to report the processed data to a higher level command The communication system can be a Customer Furnished Equipment, or can be supplied by ELETTRONICA. Civilian or military telephone lines (also optical fibre), V/UHF data link, satellite Systems can be used. It has to be highlighted that these systems have been checked and tested by the Indian Army Officers during a NCNC test and trials performed in Treviso (Italy) form 24th to 28th February 2008 utilizing systems made available for such activities by the Italian Army. The result of such field tests and relevant performance analysis lead to an official statement of “Full Compliance” with the requirement issued by the Indian Army delegation SP

ELT/888 Composition

The ELT/888 Passive Sensor basically consists of the following items: • Monopulse Directional Antenna • Equipment Rack (Superhet Receiver, Measuring Units, Operator Console) • Ancillary Units (GPS, Gyro Compass, Communication and data link system) • Data and voice link devices

ELINT Network Composition

The ELINT Network is composed of: • ELT/888 Passive Sensors (at least 3); • EWAC with Supervisor and Map capabilities • Communication System The main tasks and functions of the

Typical Equipment Rack Arrangement

Passive Sensor in Shelterised Configuration

The Monopulse Directional Antenna (Retracted for shelter transportation)


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