How to Achieve Spectral Dominance in Electronic Warfare Systems

Maintaining an advantage in today’s battlespace requires more than power alone. As many consider the electromagnetic spectrum the future domain of conflict, electronic warfare (EW) strategy now hinges on the enhanced ability to sense, analyse, and manipulate signals across an increasingly congested electromagnetic environment.

The race for spectral dominance is accelerating. Nations worldwide are prioritising spectrum superiority as a core defence objective. The United States Department of Defense outlines this in their Electromagnetic Spectrum Superiority Strategy, while NATO provides extensive guidance through its publications on Electromagnetic Operations within the broader Electromagnetic Environment (EME).

More than ever before, developers of electronic warfare systems must prioritise architectures that coordinate a blend of next-generation RF innovations, including wideband sensing, high-speed digital conversion, precision timing, and adaptive signal processing capable of reacting to threats in microseconds.

What is Electronic Warfare and Why RF Technology Defines It

Examples of the electromagnetic spectrum being exploited and blocked in electromagnetic warfare. Source: NATO

Electronic warfare spans three interdependent mission areas that all rely on controlling or exploiting the electromagnetic spectrum:

• Electronic Support Measures (ESM): Detects, identifies, and locates adversary emitters using high-dynamic-range receivers and ultra-sensitive RF front ends.

• Electronic Attack (EA): Projects high-power RF energy to degrade, deceive, or deny enemy systems.

• Electronic Protection (EP): Safeguards friendly assets against hostile jamming and interference.

These mission areas are executed through a wide range of EW systems, including airborne ESM pods, naval electronic support suites, ground-based jammers, counter-UAS platforms, radar warning receivers (RWRs), electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems, and integrated ISR payloads. All operate across HF, VHF, UHF, microwave, millimetre-wave, and even visible-light bands.

Achieving spectral dominance requires RF technologies that deliver wider bandwidth, lower latency, improved dynamic range, and hardened resilience, enabling EW systems to detect and react to increasingly agile and complex threats.

Getting Inside the RF Signal Chain

Electronic warfare is fundamentally an RF-driven discipline. Every EW effect — from sensing and classification to geolocation, jamming, or protection — depends on the performance of each stage in the RF signal chain.

To achieve spectral dominance, an EW system must sense, process, and act on signals faster and more accurately than an adversary. Rather than functioning as a single subsystem, an EW platform operates as a tightly synchronised sequence of RF stages that work together to extract information, make decisions, and deliver effects in real time.

A modern EW architecture typically includes the following RF stages:

Antenna & Multifunction Apertures	Wideband antennas capture signals across the EM spectrum.
RF Front-End Components	Low-noise amplifiers, limiters, filters, and high-power RF amplifiers determine sensitivity and survivability.
Frequency Conversion & Local Oscillator (LO) Control	Phase-noise performance and LO stability directly impact detection accuracy and dynamic range.
Digitization & Direct RF Sampling	High-speed ADCs and DACs convert RF signals into digital data streams for advanced processing.
Signal Processing & Real-Time Analytics	EW systems rely on low-latency FPGA logic, VPX compute modules, and SDR platforms for waveform generation, classification, and adaptive decision-making.

RF Innovations Enabling Spectral Dominance

Altera Agilex™ 9 SoC FPGA Direct RF-Series

Source: Altera

High-performance FPGAs have become indispensable in defence signal chains due to their reconfigurability, ability to handle extreme data rates, and long operational lifecycle. Agilex™ 9 Direct RF devices from Altera combine advanced FPGAs with integrated wideband and mid-band data converters, ultra-low-latency interfaces, high-speed transceivers (up to 58 Gbps), and multi-core Arm processors, all fabricated on 10 nm SuperFin process technology.

Traditional EW receivers rely on multi-stage superheterodyne designs. In contrast, Direct RF sampling with Agilex 9 allows incoming RF to be digitised almost immediately, significantly reducing analogue complexity and dramatically improving latency.

Key Features:

• Offers Direct RF sampling rates of up to 64 Gsps and eliminates the need for traditional analog RF front end components.

• Utilizes Embedded Multi-Die Interconnect Bridge (EMIB) and Advanced Interconnect Bus (AIB) tile interconnect technology to integrate high-performance ADCs and DACs with Agilex 7 and Stratix 10 FPGA die in a single package.

• Provides a high density of logic elements and DSP blocks for compute-heavy workloads like signal processing and AI, along with an ARM based processor and Secure Device Manager.

• Supports high-speed transceivers and memory interfaces, enabling fast data movement across the device

Lockheed Martin recently flight-tested a Gen12 direct-RF transceiver powered by an Agilex-class Direct RF SoC on a Group 2 UAV, demonstrating real-time detection and geolocation of emitters in a contested environment. The test validated that Direct RF architectures can deliver low-latency, wideband ESM performance in low-SWaP airborne platforms and highlighted the growing defence demand for SOSA-aligned, domestically sourced semiconductor technology.

RHIC Wideband GaN Amplifiers

Source: RFHIC

RFHIC’s GaN-based wideband amplifiers are widely deployed in defence systems, particularly for counter-UAS (C-UAS) and other EA platforms. As recent conflicts have shown, commercial drones present a rapidly evolving threat. Effective countermeasures rely heavily on RF power delivery for jamming, spoofing, or disabling onboard electronics.

When integrated into C-UAS or other EW payloads, RFHIC GaN amplifiers enable:

• Jamming to disrupt command-and-control or video links

• Spoofing to manipulate GNSS or telemetry

• Electronic attack using high-power RF energy to degrade flight controllers

• Support for directed-energy systems by feeding high-power RF stages

Off-the-shelf GaN modules simplify system integration while providing reliable thermal efficiency, ruggedness, and output power.

SiTime Endura™ Oscillators

Source: SiTime

Unlike corporate data centers, industrial organisations often utilises decentralized, remote facilities, legacy equipment, and hybrid IT/OT environments. Devices may be mounted on top of wind turbines, embedded within digital signage high above busy streets, or installed deep underground in mining corridors. In environments such as these, OOBM is an essential solution to remotely access and resolve devices that are otherwise dangerous, difficult, or costly to reach in-person.

Key Features:

• Shock resistance up to 30,000 g (with future variants targeting 100 kg survivability)

• Industry-leading vibration immunity (0.01–0.004 ppb/g)

• Exceptional frequency stability (±1 ppb OCXO-class or ±5 ppb TCXO-class)

• Consistent performance under temperature swings, radiation, and mechanical stress

  
  

NI SDR and NI PXI platform

Advancing EW capability requires rapid prototyping and flexible test architecture. NI’s SDR and PXI ecosystems give researchers and system integrators a modular framework for quickly transforming new ideas into operationally relevant hardware.

Source: NI

These platforms allow teams to:

• Build hardware testbeds with minimal custom development 

• Synchronize large, multi-channel RF arrays

• Stream wideband I/Q data directly into real-time processors

• Evaluate novel interference mitigation, adaptive waveforms, and ML-driven cognitive techniques

• Move seamlessly from simulation to hardware execution

NI’s unified hardware/software workflow significantly accelerates R&D cycles for next-generation radar, EW, and spectrum-maneuver capabilities

ADLINK VPX

Source: ADLINK

Modern EW increasingly relies on compute-intensive processing, particularly for real-time analytics and machine learning workloads. The VPX portfolio from ADLINK Technology is engineered for the extreme conditions associated with airborne, ground, and naval defense platforms.

Key Advantages:

• Proven performance in harsh environments (MIL-STD-810) 

• Alignment with OpenVPX and SOSA standards for multi-vendor interoperability

• Scalable configurations using CPU, GPU, and FPGA combinations

• Integrated edge AI and sensor fusion capabilities

• Support for data-to-decision workflows essential for split-second EW operations

In ground-based radar systems, ADLINK’s VPX6100 proved to be a critical solution for a leading defense customer. Meeting stringent military requirements with soldered memory, the 6U VPX6100 utilises minimal detachment components, wide operating temperatures, and exceptional shock/vibration resistance. Powered by dual Intel® Xeon® D-2187NT processors, optimised for heavy I/O, and enhanced  for radar signal processing, the VXP6100 integrated seamlessly into the customer’s existing infrastructure. ADLINK delivered a purpose-built solution supported by long-term supply and lifecycle management to meet this project’s extended operational needs.

Leveraging Braemac Expertise and Comprehensive RF Portfolio for Future-Proof EW Systems

Achieving spectral dominance requires a holistic understanding of the RF technologies that power electronic warfare systems. From Direct RF sampling to GaN-based jamming, precision timing, SDR prototyping, and rugged MOSA-aligned compute, the solutions profiled here represent foundational building blocks for next-generation EW capability.

For developers designing future-proof EW systems, Braemac provides a true one-stop solution. Our extensive portfolio includes best-in-class RF components from leading suppliers, helping defence developers reduce risk and accelerate time-to-deployment. Our value-added engineering and design support ensures you can maintain spectrum superiority even in the most contested environments.

To learn more, contact Info@Braemac.com.

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