Consideration of electronic warfare in the assessment and development of the operational capabilities of the armed forces

Abstract

The analysis of the Armed Forces (AF) operational capabilities requires the construction of a formal model. Elements of this model will be presented here. Including selected aspects of Electronic Warfare (EW) in an operational capability assessment model is an important and difficult task. The essence of the impact of radio-electronic, like other forms of cyber warfare, on reconnaissance, command and communications systems is to hinder or prevent kinetic operations. The model should identify and prioritise the required capabilities by defining the key objectives: identification of the future security environment and within it the operational environment, identification of planning scenarios and requirements for future forces, including forces to execute EW, identification of specific tasks in relation to AF missions and tasks, Identification of the list of AF required capabilities in the AF capability catalogue. The idea of identifying required capabilities and identifying gaps is presented in this chapter. The key questions/problems posed in the analysis process are: Do the identified capabilities fit with the mission and operational concepts and threats? What are the indicators for achieving the desired operational capabilities? What might be the cost of providing the AF with the required capabilities? What is the key approach to address these issues? An operational capability approach to planning is used, including the identification of the AF' reference modules, including EW units. Dimensioning of operational capabilities using formal and simulation methods is an important problem. An optimisation model is presented for determining the structure of the AF, based on reference modules with desired capabilities, enabling the realisation of identified operational concepts, taking into account the following criteria: operational and cost. The analysis proposes custom simulation models, based on mathematical models of the AF. The simulation is based on a step-by-step analysis with an introduced scenario and possible enemy structure and defined mission. A way of modifying the assessment of the parties' potentials as a result of the EW impact is presented. This has implications for the allocation of reference units in the formation of own forces in response to the enemy's potential formation and action.