Electronic Warfare EW, encompasses, in all battle phases, military actions involving the use of EM energy to determine, exploit, reduce or prevent hostile use of EM spectrum and the actions, which retain friendly use of the EM spectrum. EW consists of three related sectors, viz., Electronic Protection (EP), Electronic Attack (EA), and Electronic Support (ES).
ES sensors allow the passive detection of emissions from radar systems and can be used to classify and geo-locate radar systems operated by an adversary. ES is responsible for supplying intelligence and threat recognition that are necessary for EA and EP to function effectively. In the context of radar, ES consists of two divisions: Electronic Intelligence (ELINT), and Electronic Support Measures (ESM). Although ELINT is technically a subset of SIGINT or Signals Intelligence, ELINT specifically deals with radar signals, whereas SIGINT is often associated only with Communication or data link signals.
ESM receivers are linked with radar warning system or radar countermeasure systems in order to react to encountered threats. Hence, time is a critical factor in ESM. Ideally, an ES system on an aircraft, for example, should be able to recognise the transmissions from a threat radar system, associate it with a hostile platform and weapon system, discern the operating mode it is using, whether that be search and track or weapon guidance, and hand the information off to, for example, a Defensive Aids Suite (DAS) controller to deploy countermeasures and issue the pilot with appropriate manoeuvre advice. It might also hand the information off to a data link for sharing over a tactical network.
ELINT’s purpose, on the other hand, is to receive, locate and identify and sometimes measure and analyse radar signals. The goal of ELINT, in contrast, is to create threat databases that are used by ESM (among other users), and to update the Electronic Order of Battle (EOB) which is concerned with movements, location updates, and the readiness of adversary emitters. Electronic Warfare heavily relies on Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) and the data it provides including radar operating parameters, waveform details, geo-location, and other pertinent information.With advances in digital hardware technology, it becomes possible (and it is sometimes preferred) to use the same hardware (i.e. receiver) for both ESM and ELINT.
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