introduction
With the continuous development of informatization and intelligent technology, electronic countermeasures, as an important means of combat, have significantly surpassed the early scope of combat operations and gradually upgraded to electromagnetic space operations that cover the entire area and profoundly affect the effectiveness of joint operations. At present, the world's new military transformation is accelerating, and electromagnetic space operations with electronic countermeasures as the core are also in a new development period. In this context, recognizing the changing trends of electromagnetic space operations and further deepening the understanding of the laws of electromagnetic space operations is of great significance for the scientific use of electromagnetic space operations forces, effectively improving combat effectiveness, and thus winning informationized and intelligent wars.
The status role has shifted from "support and guarantee" to "combat means"
At the beginning of its birth, electronic means were mainly used in combat support and support, and its functional positioning was concentrated in basic combat fields such as communication support, intelligence reconnaissance, and navigation and positioning. With the iterative development of communication electronics technology, the integration of military electronics technology and modern combat systems continues to deepen, and its functions have extended from single support to all-domain combat capabilities. First, it plays the role of a nerve center in the field of combat command and control, and can build a battlefield information network through real-time data links to achieve efficient coordination of multi-domain combat units; second, it plays a core enabling role in the field of fire strike, and can rely on electronic guidance, target identification and damage assessment technology to significantly improve the strike accuracy and damage effectiveness of weapon systems; third, it enhances confrontation effectiveness in the field of system operations, and can use electronic countermeasures, spectrum control and other means to directly weaken the enemy's battlefield perception and command and control capabilities. The functional jump in these three aspects has transformed military electronic technology from a auxiliary element to an important factor that directly affects the effectiveness of the weapon system and even the combat capability of the entire system.
As informatization and intelligent warfare accelerate, intellectual power has increasingly become the core power to win the future battlefield. The importance of traditional firepower advantage has gradually given way to information advantage, and military electronic technology is the core hub for transforming advantages in the information domain into results in the physical domain. Under this circumstance, military electronic technology has penetrated into all aspects of the entire combat system, giving rise to a new combat style of electromagnetic space warfare. On the modern battlefield, the strike effectiveness of electromagnetic space operations is as important as traditional combat methods, and even more critical in some links. Its combat mechanism mainly revolves around the struggle for electromagnetic power on the battlefield, and achieves combat goals through a systematic approach. Specifically, its effectiveness relies on the four-in-one action framework of "reconnaissance, attack, defense, and management", that is: reconnaissance and mastering the electromagnetic situation on the battlefield, attacking and suppressing the enemy's electromagnetic power, protecting one's own electromagnetic security, and controlling and optimizing the use of spectrum resources. This overall domain combat method based on electromagnetic spectrum full-domain confrontation is becoming an important combat method to support joint operations and seize comprehensive battlefield control.
The purpose of combat has shifted from "defending oneself against the enemy" to "taking the initiative to attack"
In traditional offensive and defensive operations, due to factors such as the low level of military electronic technology and the low degree of informatization of weapons and equipment, the purpose of military electronic technology application is mainly focused on passively resisting the enemy's electromagnetic suppression and ensuring one's own electromagnetic safety during combat operations. Even in the late 20th century, electronic countermeasures had developed to a considerable level and scale, but they were still limited to "electromagnetic soft-kill" countermeasures and the use of a small number of anti-radiation missiles. There were few examples of active electromagnetic space operations against the enemy.
However, with the rapid development of electronic information technology and the widespread deployment of intelligent equipment, the purpose of electromagnetic space operations in the context of joint operations has gradually shifted to proactive attacks. Specifically, electromagnetic space combat forces can not only induce the enemy's advanced sensors to generate virtual images, mislead its intelligent decision-making systems, and take over its unmanned equipment clusters, etc., but can also be mixed with army aviation and long-range fire forces to target important enemy combat nodes and implement multi-frequency domain "soft kills" and integrated "hard destruction." This transformation marks the upgrade of electromagnetic space operations from a purely defensive tool to an offensive means. The combat method emphasizes preemptive strikes, actively interfering and destroying the enemy's electromagnetic activities, weakening its overall combat effectiveness, and thus taking the lead in the early stages of the war. This proactive combat paradigm not only enhances the strategic value of electromagnetic space, but also promotes the deep integration of various services and arms in joint operations, making electromagnetic power a key support for battlefield victory.
It can be seen that in the future battlefield, the purpose of electromagnetic space operations has gone beyond simply competing for environmental advantages to "preserve oneself and resist the enemy". Its core is accelerating to expand and extend to "active enemy control", that is, through a comprehensive method that combines "soft kill" paralysis and "hard destruction" suppression to achieve deep intervention and effective disintegration of the enemy's combat system. If used properly, the overwhelming advantage of electromagnetic space operations can even achieve the winning effect of "conquering the enemy without fighting."
The combat relationship has shifted from "simple superposition" to "integrated integration"
Since its birth, electromagnetic space operations have not been isolated. In the early stages of its development, it is mainly manifested in the simple superposition and preliminary coordination of technical capabilities. This is specifically reflected in the fact that combat units such as communication countermeasures, radar countermeasures, and electro-optical countermeasures are mostly deployed and operated independently, with relatively single functions. There is a lack of deep interaction and unified scheduling between operations in different spectrum domains. The operational effects are mainly manifested in point suppression or interference of specific electromagnetic nodes of the enemy. Entering the era of informationization and intelligence, from interception and early warning to interference suppression, from communication confrontation to radar confrontation, from battlefield reconnaissance to power seizure, electromagnetic space operations have become increasingly closely integrated with real space operations by virtue of their vertical extension of combat chains, horizontal expansion of spectrum territories, and empowerment of combat effect systems. The relationship between various units has also transformed from "simple superposition" to "integrated fusion" based on system confrontation.
Among the many forms of information warfare, electronic countermeasures are its main content and technical support. Information countermeasures on the battlefield are essentially a competition for electromagnetic control. Therefore, to a certain extent, the power to control electromagnetic forces is equivalent to the power to control information on the battlefield. In the context of joint operations, "information-led, firepower-based warfare" has become the most basic and common combat method. Its integration of information and firepower puts forward inevitable requirements for systematization and jointization of electromagnetic space operations. This means that electromagnetic space combat operations must be deeply integrated into the joint combat system, closely coordinated and integrated with fire strike operations to form an organic whole of system confrontation. Only in this way can the key effectiveness of electromagnetic space operations be maximized, and the joint operational goals of integrated information and fire and cross-domain efficiency enhancement be finally achieved.
Methods and strategies shift from "single redundancy" to "global linkage"
In traditional mechanized warfare, the competition for resources in the electromagnetic field is fragmented, and its method system has obvious limitations. Even in relatively complex combat scenarios, it is still concentrated on single means such as reconnaissance, interference, and protection. This type of mode can only form local suppression of specific enemy combat nodes, and it is difficult to achieve systematic control of electromagnetic power in the entire domain. As electronic countermeasures are upgraded to an independent combat style, spectrum operations, electromagnetic warfare, etc. continue to evolve, and their core is embodied in the aggregation of four major capabilities, namely: battlefield penetration of signal reconnaissance, system destructive power of electronic attack, survivability and resilience of electronic protection, and synergistic effectiveness of spectrum management and control. This requires us to abandon the thinking that only focuses on improving the performance of a single-installation platform, and instead build a joint electronic countermeasure capability generation model with information advantages as the hub and system support as the cornerstone.
To achieve this, it not only requires the integration of technical equipment, but also relies on the innovation of combat concepts, the optimization of institutional arrangements, and the improvement of command arts. It aims to use the systematic advantages of electromagnetic space to effectively resolve risks, or to quickly disintegrate the opponent's combat system in an asymmetric manner when necessary, and to seize and maintain the battlefield initiative. Therefore, promoting the transformation of electromagnetic warfare capabilities to the direction of global linkage is an inevitable choice and important support to meet the challenges of future informatization and intelligent warfare.
Operational planning has shifted from "temporary response" to "active deployment"
A large number of war practices have proved that electromagnetic space operations have increasingly been regarded as an important asymmetric measure to offset the advantages of high-tech systems and weapons. In the field of electromagnetic warfare, new frequency-using technologies or equipment are always given priority to improve anti-reconnaissance and anti-jamming capabilities, and only then can electronic countermeasures be developed to compete with them. This determines that the electronic countermeasures opponent has a natural lag relative to the spectrum utilization side, which means that it is difficult for the "spear" and "shield" of electromagnetic space operations to effectively compete simultaneously. Therefore, early electromagnetic space operations planning must focus on sudden crises and pay attention to temporary responses.
However, driven by emerging electronic information technology, the technical level of frequency-using equipment such as communications, radar, and navigation continues to upgrade, and new concept electronic countermeasures continue to enter the electromagnetic strike "weapon arsenal." Faced with this situation, it is difficult to reverse the passive situation on the battlefield caused by the generation gap in key technologies simply by relying on rapid technological compensation and equipment replacement. Therefore, electromagnetic space combat planning should, on the basis of accelerating technological catch-up, strengthen the strategic layout and actively shape the electromagnetic situation that is conducive to seizing electromagnetic control power and even comprehensive battlefield control power. It is necessary to seize the characteristics and laws of the electromagnetic situation in the informationized and intelligent battlefield, such as dense and changeable signals, complex and intertwined networks, blurred boundaries between ourselves and the enemy, and rapid time and space transitions. We must unify command, highlight key points, and organize electromagnetic space combat operations in a careful and coordinated manner, so that various electromagnetic space combat forces form an organic whole and form a powerful advantage in comprehensively defeating the enemy.
