L3Harris: Electronic warfare

Electronic warfare (EW) is playing an increasingly critical role in modern military operations – unseen but essential in protecting armed forces’ access and use of the electromagnetic spectrum while simultaneously denying the enemy’s access and use. Since the 1960’s US company, L3Harris has dominated this environment.

THE FUTURE IS ELECTRONIC

L3Harris’ ES-5080 technology is an electronic intelligence (ELINT) and electronic support measures (ESM) system that, driven by state-of-the-art digital receiver technology, always ensures spectrum-wide superiority.  

Radar and radio frequency (RF) communications exist in every aspect of modern warfare. The advanced wideband digital receiver technology intercepts, detects and identifies a wide variety of radar and communication emissions from submarines, surface ships, aircraft and land-based emitters, providing real-time situational awareness and electronic intelligence.

The company’s technology is being used by joint and allied forces for surveillance across countries around the Baltic and Black Seas where the ongoing conflict in Ukraine has resulted in a significant increase in demand for EW systems from neighbouring NATO nations looking to monitor and protect their borders.

ESM technology is used to detect, identify, and locate sources emitting RF energy, provide a tactical advantage by preparing the armed forces to respond to potential threats in real-time and provide electronic intelligence in conflict zones. ELINT uses advanced signal processing techniques to develop a collection of signal and emitter data that is used to then develop and maintain comprehensive threat libraries.

The ES-5080 system is designed for air, land, and coastal surveillance in a portable or fixed-site application. It provides flexible operations through customisable system configurations such as single or multi-channel receivers and local or remote monitoring by single or multiple operators. The system uses a Windows interface for emitter graphical analysis and display while the graphics-based human-machine interface allows operators to easily interpret and understand the signal environment and can be run on multi-function consoles.