Near East
There is a lot of confusing information around the imaginary program on radio-technical reconnaissance aircraft (RTR), which Ukraine and Saudi Arabia announced in November 2016. In the news, there were reports that Saudi Arabia planned to buy up to six An-132 turboprop cargo aircraft, two of which will be configured for RTR missions. Tellingly, there is no information regarding the possible specification of these aircraft, or when they may be delivered to the Saudi Air Force.
However, at the International Defense Exhibition 2017 in Abu Dhabi, the state-owned enterprise Ukroboronprom announced that the exact specification of the RTR aircraft still needs to be agreed upon by the Saudi Air Force and the Ukrainian company. The representative of Ukroboronprom could not give any information about when the configuration of the aircraft will be agreed or when the delivery of these platforms will begin. At the moment, the source added, the initiative remains only "on paper" with no signs of when the design phase will begin.
A year ago, there were reports that the Egyptian Air Force would convert one of its Lockheed Martin C-130H / H30 military transport aircraft into an electronic reconnaissance platform; the conversion will be carried out by the American company Sierra Nevada Corporation. No additional information has been published regarding this initiative: when the conversion will be completed and what RTR equipment can be installed on the aircraft. In 2003, the Egyptian Air Force upgraded two of its C-130H aircraft with RTP roll-out pallets to a configuration similar to that of the US Air Force's EC-130H Compass Call aircraft. The main task of the modified Egyptian aircraft is to detect and jam hostile communications. Although the capabilities of the Egyptian Air Force planes are similar to those of American aircraft, they almost certainly did not include the systems that are equipped with the EU-130H aircraft, their export is strictly prohibited under the US International Arms Trade Regulations (ITAR). Interestingly, Tales offers an RTR container that can be installed on aircraft of the C-130 family and is capable of collecting RTR data. France has close military ties with Egypt and the purchase of such a container for the Egyptian C-130H / H30 aircraft would allow the United States and Cairo to potentially circumvent any ITAR restrictions on the basis that the product is free of such restrictions. Likewise, Lockheed Martin is supplying the Dragon Shield PTR withdrawable equipment for the C-130 family, including the C-130E / H variants. As noted above, Lockheed Martin participated in the 2003 modernization of Egyptian C-130H aircraft and may have offered them a Dragon Shield variant that does not fall under ITAR rules.
North America
In December 2016, it was reported that the aircraft of the US Army ES-130H were deployed in the Middle East, performing important work to jam ISIS communications and, thereby, hindering the operational control of the group. But most of the work of the EC-130H aircraft is shrouded in secrecy. The information published in December 2016 by the US Air Force regarding the activity of the EC-130H aircraft from the 43rd Expeditionary Electronic Suppression Squadron, it is said about translators from Arabic accompanying the EC-130H crews, whose task is to help determine the priority of jamming the IS communication channels. Also in this message it is said that in October 2016, the EC-130H aircraft successfully jammed the radio frequency channel that controls the drones, depriving the group of the ability to control and use such platforms.
However, there is uncertainty about the prospects for the EC-130H fleet. In the summer of 2016, it was reported that a proposal from the US Air Force to transfer the tasks of the EU-130H to smaller platforms, for example, business jets (business aircraft), met with resistance from the Congress Committee on the Armed Forces. Then the Air Force made a request for the allocation of $ 165 million to transfer equipment from the EC-130H to similar platforms.
The Air Force proposed to transfer the subsystems of the ES-130H aircraft to a smaller business jet, which received the designation ES-37B in May 2016. The Air Force plans to acquire and convert one Gulfstream G550 to the EU-37B standard annually. The Air Force plans to buy a total of ten EC-37B aircraft to replace its existing fleet of 14 EC-130H aircraft, seven of which are planned to be decommissioned. As a result, the US Air Force could have at its disposal a mixed fleet of six EC-37B and eight EC-130H until about 2025-2026. The US Air Force reportedly requested an initial $ 165 million in order to begin a program to convert the first ten G550s to the EU-37B configuration for a total of about $ 1.6 billion.
The plans to acquire the ES-37B aircraft raised many questions, not least due to the fact that the Air Force planned to issue an uncontested contract to an industrial group consisting of Gulfstream and BAE Systems, of which the second would be responsible for the supply of RTR subsystems for the equipment of the EU- 37B. Other potential players in the project to replace the EC-130H could be: Boeing, which offers an RTR collection platform based on its B737 airliner, and the Lockheed Martin and Bombardier consortium with its proposal based on the Bombardier Global 5000 business jet. The EC-130H with uncontested contractors drew criticism from the Senate Armed Services Committee. Meanwhile, Bombardier has filed an objection with the Government Accountability Office, which reviews government spending, against the Air Force's decision to award the contract to a single contractor. It is difficult to say which way the replacement of the EC-130H aircraft will go, however, given that the EC-130H fleet was purchased in the early 80s and entered service with the US Air Force in 1982, it is quite obvious that these aircraft need an early replacement.
Business aviation jamming
Business aviation or business jets are increasingly becoming fashionable as RTR platforms. According to Israeli experts, this trend is determined by a number of factors. First, the miniaturization of electronic circuits according to Moore's Law (named after Gordon Moore, co-founder of Intel Corporation, who claimed that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit doubled every two years) has led to a gradual reduction in the physical size of the electronic support systems that are an integral part of the process. collection of RTR data. Therefore, it is now possible to install such equipment in relatively small aircraft, such as the G550, compared to large platforms like the RC-135V / W Rivet Joint, based on the Boeing B707 family of airliners. Secondly, business jets are attractive because they can offer both long range and a high level of comfort. For example, according to the manufacturer, the G550 has a range of 12,500 km, eclipsing the measly 5,500 km that the RC-135V / W boasts. In addition to the long flight range, business aviation aircraft provide the crew with increased comfort, which in the world of RTR data collection is not a luxury, but a necessity. RTR missions can last for several hours and comfortable conditions improve the concentration of the crew.
The Argentine Air Force clearly demonstrates the growing trend of using business jets as RTR platforms. In July 2016, images of the Learjet Model-35A aircraft, acquired by the country in 2013 to collect RTR data, appeared. Open sources state that the aircraft is equipped with the Tales Vigile-200 ESM system. According to Tales, the system operates in the radio frequency range from 500 MHz to 18 GHz. Of particular interest is the narrowband range from 500 MHz to 2 GHz. This part of the RF spectrum is particularly crowded, including the L and S bands, often used by ground-based airspace surveillance radars and maritime surveillance radars. Thus, the acquisition of this system will allow the armed forces of Argentina to compile a detailed electronic map of such radars. In addition, Tales offers its Vigile-200 as a shipborne system for installation on surface and ships and submarines, as well as aircraft.
It is worth noting that the British Air Force purchased four Saab Girafe-AMB ground surveillance radars in 2015 for $ 75 million, which will be delivered in 2017-2018. This radar operates in the C-band and therefore the operating frequency range of 0.5 MHz-18 GHz of the Vigile-200 could give the Argentine Air Force some ability to detect and locate these radars deployed in the Falkland Islands, which Argentina and the United Kingdom dispute. Although the Argentine Air Force acquired the Learjet Model-35A as an RTR platform back in 2013, the Vigile-200 system, ordered the same year, was not delivered and installed on the aircraft until 2016.
Russia
Russia is building up its electronic warfare capabilities with the adoption of the new Il-22PP Porubshchik platform for its Air Force. Local media claim that the delivery of the aircraft began in November 2016. As for its capabilities, there is very little specific technical information, with the exception of reports that the electronic warfare equipment of this jamming aircraft is capable of jamming Northrop Grumman AN / APY-1/2 S-band radars installed on Boeing E- early warning aircraft. 3, and ground-based aerial surveillance radars Raytheon AN / MPO-53 C-band, which are one of the main components of the Raytheon MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems. The Il-22PP aircraft is a temporary solution to provide the Russian Air Force with capabilities for detecting and jamming radar stations. The Il-22PP is based on the Il-18 turboprop transport aircraft, but in the long term, the Russian Air Force would like to purchase RTR platforms based on an aircraft with turbofan (turbojet bypass) engines.
The activities of the Russian Air Force in the field of airborne electronic warfare are not limited to the aforementioned platform, since in December 2016 the Russian Ministry of Defense announced plans to increase the capabilities of Su-34 fighter-bombers by installing an RTR system. These aircraft will be equipped with RTR UKR-RT suspended systems. The manufacturer of the complex is not named, although most likely it is the Almaz-Antey concern. Open sources claim that the complex is capable of detecting and identifying radio communications and radars, which indicates that the system operates in the range from 0.5 MHz to 18 GHz. However, it is possible that this complex collects RTR data for further analysis on the ground or sends information to ground and air platforms either in real or near real time using radio frequency data transmission channels. It is not known whether the aircraft's two-man crew is trained to analyze RTR data. It is possible that the deployment of the UKR-RT system aboard this aircraft is a direct consequence of the Russian campaign in Syria in support of President Assad. The deployment of the UKR-RT system will allow the Russian Air Force and the Russian army to accurately determine the coordinates of the militants' communications equipment, which can be used to further neutralize them.
Trends
The trend towards the acquisition of business jets for RTR missions is clearly visible in the planned purchases of the last two years. For example, in February 2017, it was reported that the Australian Air Force was planning to buy two G550 aircraft with surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence equipment, which was integrated by L3. These aircraft with RTR systems totaling $ 93.6 million were to be delivered in late 2017-early 2018. After being accepted into the Air Force, the G550 aircraft can replace the existing Lockheed Martin AP-3C Orion patrol aircraft and their successors Boeing P-8A, taking over the functions of collecting RTR. The new aircraft will help enhance the AIF's electronic warfare capabilities, especially when working with 12 Boeing EA-18G Growler EW aircraft and Raytheon / ATK Orbital AGM-88B / E AARGM anti-radar missiles.
Meanwhile, Israel also plans to increase its RTR capabilities with business jets. Details about the type and number of platforms Israel is about to acquire, as well as the timing of their adoption, are rather scarce. They will no doubt complement the existing G550 Shavit aircraft. Although neither the Israeli Air Force nor Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) confirm, it is possible that the G550 Shavit can be equipped with an RTR system similar in characteristics to the onboard RTR EL / I-3001 Airborne Integrated Signal Intelligence System developed by IAI, which can monitor the range from 30 MHz to 1.2 GHz for detecting radio signals and the range from 500 MHz to 18 GHz for detecting radar signals.
Articles in this series:
Eyes Wide Open: Airborne Electronic Warfare. Part 1
