Electronic Warfare - RADAR NOISE JAMMING

INTRODUCTION
 
A radar noise jamming system is designed to generate a disturbance in a radar receiver to delay or deny target detection. Since thermal noise is always present in the radar receiver, noise jamming attempts to mask the presence of targets by substantially adding to this noise level. Radar noise jamming can be employed by support jamming assets or as a self-protection jamming technique. Radar noise jamming usually employs high-power jamming signals tuned to the frequency of the victim radar.

RADAR NOISE JAMMING EFFECTIVENESS
 
The effectiveness of radar noise jamming depends on numerous factors. These factors include the jamming-to-signaI (J/S) ratio, power density, the quality of the noise signal, and the polarization of the transmitted jamming signal.
 
One of the most important factors that impacts the effectiveness of radar noise jamming is the J/S ratio .The power output of the noise jammer must be greater than the power in the target return, as measured at the output of the radar receiver. To achieve this level of jamming power, radar noise jammers usually generate high-power jamming signals. These high-power jamming signals can be introduced into the victim radar's main beam to deny range information and into the victim radar's sidelobes to deny azimuth information.
 
Another factor which impacts the effectiveness of radar noise jamming is the power density. The power density of the noise jamming signal has a direct relation to the J/S ratio.
 
If the noise jamming signal is centered on the frequency and bandwidth of the victim radar, the jamming signal has a high power density. The ability of a noise jammer to concentrate the jamming signal depends on the ability of the jammer to identify the exact frequency and bandwidth of the victim radar.
 
If the generated noise jamming signal has to cover a wide bandwidth or frequency range, the power density at any one frequency is reduced. Radar systems that are frequency agile or that employ a wide bandwidth can reduce, or negate, the effectiveness of noise jamming by reducing the power density of the jamming signal.
 
The quality of the noise jamming also determines its effectiveness. To effectively jam a radar receiver with noise, the jamming signal must emulate the thermal noise generated by the receiver. This ensures that the radar operator or automatic detection circuit cannot distinguish between the noise jamming and normal thermal noise. Thermal noise is referred to as white noise and has a uniform spectrum. All of the frequencies in the bandwidth of the receiver have the same spectrum and amplitude that varies based on Gaussian distribution. A Gaussian distribution is simply a bell-shaped distribution of amplitudes. In order to be effective, the jamming signal should exactly match the characteristics of the thermal noise signal of the victim radar receiver.
 
Polarization of the noise jamming signal is another significant factor that impacts its effectiveness. As discussed in Chapter 2, if the polarization of the jamming signal does not match the antenna polarization of the victim radar, there is a significant power loss in the jamming signal. Noise jamming systems designed to counter multiple threat radars, with various polarizations, generally use a transmitting antenna with a 45° slant or use circular polarization. Most threat systems are horizontally or vertically polarized. This results in a 50% reduction in effective radiated power (ERP) for most threat systems. A more serious power loss, nearly 100%, in ERP occurs when the jamming antenna is orthogonally polarized with the victim antenna. The polarization of the noise jamming signal impacts the J/S ratio and the power density.

in pic noise modulated jamming 

RADAR NOISE JAMMING GENERATION
 
Noise jamming is produced by modulating an RF carrier wave with random amplitude or frequency changes, called noise, and retransmitting that wave at the victim radar's frequency. Since noise from numerous sources is always present and displayed on a radar scope, noise jamming adds to the problem of target detection. Reflected radar pulses from target aircraft are extremely weak. To detect these pulses, a radar receiver must be very sensitive and be able to amplify the weak target returns. Noise jamming takes advantage of this radar characteristic to delay or deny target detection.
 
The simplest method of generating a high-power Gaussian noise jamming signal is to employ a highly amplified diode to generate a noise signal at the frequency of the victim radar. This signal is filtered and directly amplified to the maximum power that can be generated by the transmitter. This method is called direct noise amplification (DINA). The DINA method of noise generation has a serious limitation. The maximum power available from linear wideband power amplification is extremely limited. Employing any other form of power amplification would alter the Gaussian distribution of the jamming signal. This method of generating radar noise jamming was used extensively during WW II.
 
 
Modern noise jamming systems generate noise jamming signals by frequency modulating a carrier wave at the frequency of the victim radar. FM noise jammers employ a receiving antenna to intercept the victim's radar signal. The antenna passes the victim radar signal to the receiver for identification. The receiver also tunes the jamming signal generator to the correct frequency. The receiver uses an automatic frequency control (AFC) circuit to tune the voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) to the frequency of the victim radar. A noise signal is generated by the jamming signal generator and added to the tuning voltage of the VCO to get an FM jamming signal. This signal is sent to a traveling wave tube (TWT) power transmitter. The TWT is normally operated in a saturated mode which produces a high-power jamming signal that covers a wider bandwidth than the victim radar. This reduces the power density of the signal, but the high power levels available from the TWT amplification of an FM signal compensate for this loss. The signal is sent to the transmitting antenna and directed toward the victim radar.  An increasing of the noise will decrease the probability of detection and an increasing of the false alarm rate too.
 
An important feature of a modern radar noise jamming system is, a look-through capability. A look-through mode allows the receiver to periodically sample the signal environment. The objective of the lookthrough mode is to allow the jammer to update victim radar parameters and change the jamming signal to respond to changes in the signal environment. This greatly enhances the effectiveness of noise jamming systems. One method used to provide a look-through capability is to isolate the transmit and receive antennas to allow continuous operation of the receiver to update signal parameters. Another method is to switch off the jammer for a brief period to allow the receiver to sample the signal environment. Since this latter look-through method eliminates the jamming signal, the amount of time the jammer is switched off must be kept to a minimum.

BARRAGE JAMMING
 
An important aspect of jamming power is power density. Noise jamming depends on power density for its effectiveness. Power density is a function of the frequency range, or bandwidth, of the jamming signal. If a jammer covers a narrow frequency range, it can concentrate energy in a narrow band. If a jammer covers a wide frequency range, the energy is spread over that entire range. Since the jammer has fixed radiated power, this lowers the effective jamming power at a given frequency. Barrage jamming is a jamming technique where high power is sacrificed for the continuous coverage of several radar frequencies. The jamming signal is spread over a wide frequency range, which lowers the ERP at any one frequency. This type of jamming is useful against frequency-agile radars, against a radar system that uses multiple beams, or against multiple radar systems operating in a specific frequency range. By spreading the jamming over a wide frequency range, there is some level of jamming no matter what frequency the radar uses. Barrage jamming was used extensively during World War II. Advantages of barrage jamming are its simplicity and ability to cover a wide portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The primary disadvantage is the low power density, especially when a high J/S ratio is needed against modern radars.

SPOT JAMMING
 
One way to take advantage of the noise jammer's simplicity, but raise the jamming signal power, is to use a spot jammer. The earliest spot jammers were very narrow band jammers covering a bandwidth of 10 megahertz or less .This narrow band spot jammer was tuned to the anticipated frequency of the target radar. When it is necessary to jam a number of radars at different frequencies, more than one jammer is used. One problem that developed was of carrying the required number of spot jammers to counter a modern lADS. Also, radars that change their operating frequency, or are frequency-agile, defeat the spot jammer. Today, intercept panoramic receivers work with spot jammers to determine the frequency of the victim radar. A look-through capability is included in the system so that the target radar signal can be monitored to assess jamming effectiveness. The jamming signal can be adjusted for any changes in the operating frequency of the radar.
 
The primary advantage of spot jamming is its power density. Radar or communications receivers can be countered at longer ranges than when using a barrage jammer of equal output power.
 
A disadvantage of the spot jammer is its coverage of a narrow band of the frequency spectrum. An operator or computer in the receiver must constantly monitor and tune the jamming signal to the target radar's frequency. The complexity of this process increases when jamming frequency-agile radars that can change frequencies with every pulse.
 

SWEPT-SPOT JAMMING
 
When high power density is required over a large bandwidth, one solution is to take spot jamming and sweep it across a wide frequency range . This preserves the high power density but allows the jamming to cover a large bandwidth. The jamming spot is swept across a broad frequency range at varying speeds. With this technique, a number of radar systems can be covered. Because of their high jamming power, swept-spot jammers are able to cover a number of radars operating in a broad frequency range. However, jamming is not continuous. Fast swept-spot jamming can approximate continuous jamming by causing a phenomenon known as “ringing.” Fast sweeping spot noise is like a burst of energy which sets up vibrations within the receiver section. When these vibrations last until the next burst of energy is received, this is known as ringing.
Three factors determine swept-spot jamming effectiveness. The first is the power in the spot. The next is the bandwidth, or frequency range, the spot covers. The last is the sweep rate.
 
COVER PULSE JAMMING
 
Cover pulse jamming is a modification of swept-spot jamming. This is a “smart noise” technique that is responsive for a short period of time . A repeater jammer acts as a transponder. It receives several radar pulses and determines the PRF (pulse repetition frequency) of the victim radar. It then uses this data to predict when the next radar pulse should arrive. Using an oscillator that is gated for a period of time based on predicted pulse arrival time, a noise-modulated signal is amplified and transmitted. This process works against a radar with a steady PRF, and allows a low-powered repeater to respond to a number of threats by time-sharing.
 
Cover pulse jamming is used to initiate a range gate pull-off (RGPO) deception jamming technique. The deception jammer transmits a noise jamming signal, or cover pulse, which is much stronger than the target return. The cover pulse raises the automatic gain inside the range gate, and the range tracking loop initiates tracking on the cover pulse. The deception jammer then increases the time delay in the jamming pulse and moves the range tracking gate away from the real target.
 
A form of cover pulse jamming is also used to initiate a velocity gate pulloff (VGPO) technique against continuous wave and pulse Doppler radars. The cover pulse, in this case, is a strong jamming signal with the same frequency shift as the aircraft return. This cover pulse steals the velocity tracking gate and sets up the velocity tracking loop to steal the velocity tracking gate based on false target Doppler shifts.

MODULATED NOISE JAMMING
 
Modulated jammers are special hybrid jammers which employ noise jamming that is either amplitude or frequency modulated. The purpose of this modulated noise is to defeat target tracking radars (TTRs) rather than deny range information. Modulated noise jamming has proven effective against conical scan and trackwhile- scan (TWS) TTRs.
 
Modulated jamming alters the noise jamming signal at a frequency that is related to the scan rate of the target radar. If modulated jamming is used against conical scan radar, a sine wave signal is used. The frequency of the sine wave is slightly higher than the scan rate of the victim radar. The amplitude difference results in a constantly varying phase between the radar and the jamming signal. This phase differential produces false targets with a strong signal amplitude everywhere the signals reinforce each other. This causes the conical scan radar to track the false returns and lose the real target return. For this technique to work, the scan rate of the intended victim radar must be known.
 
Against TWS radar, a rectangular waveform is used to modulate the noise signal. The PRF of the modulation is set at some harmonic of the TWS rate. This synchronization results in a number of jamming strobes on the radar scope. Each jamming strobe is at a different azimuth or elevation depending on which radar beam is being jammed. The number of jamming strobes depends directly on the harmonic used to modulate the signal. In Figure, a modulating signal frequency that is four times the scan rate of the radar will produce four jamming strobes on the scope. If the jamming is slightly out of tune with the scan rate, the jamming strobes will appear to roll across the radar scope.
 
 
SUMMARY
 
Radar noise jamming is employed to deny target acquisition and target tracking data to victim radar. This is accomplished by injecting amplitude or frequency modulated noise jamming signals into the victim radar's receiver. The effectiveness of the above mentioned noise jamming techniques depends on the power density of the jamming signal compared to the power in the radar return, or the J/S ratio. Radar noise jammers are generally simple, high-power systems which can be effectively employed in a support or self-protection role. Radar noise jamming can be employed in conjunction with deception jamming techniques to maximize the impact of jamming on victim radars.