Engineering Avionics SME here.

Printimus

Printimus

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Hey all,

Just wanted to make myself available to anyone curious about anything related to avionics. I currently am an Avionics Instructor and have subject matter expert knowledge of basic avionics. This includes things like:
Radar
Sonar
Radios
Navigational Aids
Electronic Warfare
Countermeasures
Infrared Detection
Fire Control Systems
Cryptographics

Now I obviously cant get into specifics of what exact equipment is on each aircraft, I can give you a Barney-style breakdown of the basics and how they work. Please feel free to pick my brain as I love sharing knowledge.
 
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Han Burgundy

Han Burgundy

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What would you say is the most widely used form of military-grade Electronic warfare being employed by armies around the world today?

Would surveillance fall under the umbrella of Electronic warfare? Or is E-War, by definition, a more direct action meant to disadvantage an enemy in the short term? (aka not secret, has immediate effect)

I basically want to make my carrack an E-war boat
 
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Han Burgundy said:
What would you say is the most widely used form of military-grade Electronic warfare being employed by armies around the world today?

Would surveillance fall under the umbrella of Electronic warfare? Or is E-War, by definition, a more direct action meant to disadvantage an enemy in the short term? (aka not secret, has immediate effect)

I basically want to make my carrack an E-war boat
Click to expand...
Surveillance would definitely fall under E-WAR in that data collection is the very first means of electronic warfare. There are a couple different variants that encompass E-WAR. We have Electronic Attack, which is the direct disabling, disrupting, degrading, or destroying of enemy electronics. There is also Electronic Warfare Support, this is what the Vanguard Sentinel's primary mission, to support its fellow aircraft in controlling their emissions so as to not be detected by the enemy. Electronic warfare support is also known as Passive electronic attack. Surveillance falls into this category as Passive EA can sometimes be a means to only collect data that the enemy is emitting, while the Passive EA aircraft is not detected.
 
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Blind Owl

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Han Burgundy said:
What would you say is the most widely used form of military-grade Electronic warfare being employed by armies around the world today?

Would surveillance fall under the umbrella of Electronic warfare? Or is E-War, by definition, a more direct action meant to disadvantage an enemy in the short term? (aka not secret, has immediate effect)

I basically want to make my carrack an E-war boat
Click to expand...
All I'm allowed to say is:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electronic_warfare
;)
 
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Han Burgundy

Han Burgundy

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Printimus said:
Why yes it is! That falls under the electronic deception category of countermeasures!
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I am learning so much today. Crewing with people who have some semblance of knowing what the hell they are doing is always fun. Yaay for playing with some serious thought to things and stuff&such!
 
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Blind Owl said:
Hahaha. Just rolls with it. I love it.
How will the Sentinel differ from the Warlock in its E-WAR abilities?
Click to expand...
Well based on the descriptions of each ship, the Warlock is more of an Electronic Attack, being on the offensive, disabling enemy systems and/or overloading their avionics. Where the Sentinel will be more Passive electronic attack in that it will be able to detect enemies early on and possibly be able to control the emissions of friendlies in a flight formation so as to keep them hidden from enemy detection.
 
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MrHatts said:
So can you give us the basics of when it is appropriate to use e-warfare. For example what e-warfare are you going to use before or during a battle. How do they differ? Do they differ?
Click to expand...
Think of it this way, for every piece of electronic equipment out there, there is a EWAR piece to counter it. Some are used for recon and collecting data while staying hidden, others are used to evade incoming enemy attacks, and some are used to directly confuse enemy systems or even disable their equipment. If the enemy uses heat seeker missiles, flares are used to counter it. If the enemy is using radar guided missiles, use chaff. And if you want to confuse the enemy into thinking you have more numbers than you are, use a repeater-jammer.

Give me damn near any scenario and I'll tell you how to counter-act it.
 
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Varku

Varku

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Printimus said:
Hey all,

Just wanted to make myself available to anyone curious about anything related to avionics. I currently am an Avionics Instructor and have subject matter expert knowledge of basic avionics. This includes things like:
Radar
Sonar
Radios
Navigational Aids
Electronic Warfare
Countermeasures
Infrared Detection
Fire Control Systems
Cryptographics

Now I obviously cant get into specifics of what exact equipment is on each aircraft, I can give you a Barney-style breakdown of the basics and how they work. Please feel free to pick my brain as I love sharing knowledge.
Click to expand...
Okay Navigations, i wonder about the algorithm behind it. (talking about the naviagation devices you can find in Cars for example)
In specific i wonder if the majority of the math for finding the "best" path is pre-calculated (and saved in a large database) or if the algorithm in todays navigation Systems have way more Calculation power than i thought, or if they only aim for the "this might be good path" solution.

Oh and Cryptographics:
We're close to a time where Quantum computers are available to the big players, So we're also close to a time, where the most popular encryption algorithms we used in the past decade are about to become worthless. Are you aware of any encryption algorithm, that can't be cracked easiely by a quantum computer?
 
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Varku said:
Okay Navigations, i wonder about the algorithm behind it. (talking about the naviagation devices you can find in Cars for example)
In specific i wonder if the majority of the math for finding the "best" path is pre-calculated (and saved in a large database) or if the algorithm in todays navigation Systems have way more Calculation power than i thought, or if they only aim for the "this might be good path" solution.

Oh and Cryptographics:
We're close to a time where Quantum computers are available to the big players, So we're also close to a time, where the most popular encryption algorithms we used in the past decade are about to become worthless. Are you aware of any encryption algorithm, that can't be cracked easiely by a quantum computer?
Click to expand...
The navigation systems you are referring to rely heavily upon GPS satellites and the maps that are already stored in the unit. To get to your designated destination, it merely routes the quickest path in the stored map. As for keeping track of speed and position, GPS satellites are time accurate to 100 nanoseconds, velocity accurate to 0.1 m/s, and location accurate to within 16 meters in three dimensions. The more satellites you are receiving from, the more accurate everything is.

I get asked about cryptographic algorithms pretty often. I know the purpose and how to use some of the equipment, but each piece of equipment (and there are thousands and thousands) has its own algorithm. It is pretty difficult to crack any cryptographic transmission unless you have the same equipment as the enemy and you know what encryption method (which codes) they have used. And if you dont have the same codes and try to listen to what is being said on the encrypted frequency, it sounds like a bunch of static noise.
 
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