Air-to-air missiles, ground-fired weapons such as air defenses and approaching enemy aircraft all contain an electronic signature. This is a modern warfare reality now inspiring a U.S. Air Force effort to upgrade its F-15s with new electronic warfare (EW) weapons. For the last several years, the service has been in the process of testing, engineering and integrating a new Eagle Passive/Active Warning and Survivability System (EPAWSS) into its fleet of F-15s to, quite simply, keep pace with fast-changing threats.
By operating in passive or active mode, the EPAWSS can perform both offensive and defensive missions, such as finding and jamming enemy radio communications, detecting the electronic signature of incoming weapons or simply sustaining an EW-enabled operational presence.
Passive mode allows the EW system to in effect “listen” for enemy signatures while not giving off a signal itself....MORE
