Countering the Electronic Warfare Threat: Modeling Electromagnetic Signatures of Portable Ultrasounds Used in Far Forward Environments

Session Description: Electronic warfare (EW) is increasingly a consideration in operational planning for SOF and conventional units. In near peer, large-scale combat operations, and irregular and unconventional warfare, dominance of the electromagnetic spectrum is not assured, and units are vulnerable to exposure based on the electromagnetic signature (signature) emitted by their equipment.

Mitigation of EW takes multiple forms, including jamming adversary sensors and masking and reducing signatures. Adopting the appropriate mitigation strategy, however, first requires an understanding of the signatures in our kitbag.

Although handheld ultrasound systems are being carried by SOF medics far forward, their signature—and therefore the risk their use poses—remains unknown. The authors present preliminary data from a novel investigation of the signatures of common handheld ultrasound systems in a realistic field environment using sensors relevant to known and unclassified threat capabilities.

Partnering with the Joint Electromagnetic Warfare Center (JEWC), the authors are developing models of the electromagnetic signatures of commercially available handheld ultrasounds commonly carried far forward. The models are generated: (a) mathematically, by estimating the signatures of ultrasounds based on their frequency and power levels as specified by manufacturers; and (b) empirically, by using the ultrasound systems in a realistic scenario, while surveilling them with a spectrum analyzer.

The resulting models depict the range in which sensors can detect the ultrasound systems as they are being used in an expected manner far forward. Understanding this range is a fundamental aspect of operations planning and risk management far forward. These models may inform military acquisition decisions, as well as individual SOF medic and unit decisions about use of the ultrasound far forward.