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In a report on July 14, Hong Kong's South China Morning Post linked the Chinese Navy's Nanchang ship's party committee being awarded the title of "Model of the Times" at the beginning of this year with the dismissal of the commander of the US electronic warfare squadron at the end of last year. The reason is that a paper recently published in a Chinese academic journal involved a technical analysis of the PLA warships' confrontation with electronic warfare aircraft. The South China Morning Post analyzed that with the support of artificial intelligence technology, the PLA has a "key advantage" in confronting US electronic warfare aircraft.

The South China Morning Post reported that in December last year, the US Navy dismissed Kurt, commander of the 136th Air Electronic Warfare Squadron on the USS Carl Vinson, for "losing confidence in command"; a month later, the Party Committee of the Chinese Navy's Type 055 destroyer Nanchang was awarded the title of "Model of the Times". In a paper published in the Chinese academic journal Radar and Electronic Countermeasures last month, Chinese scientists revealed how artificial intelligence technology has given the PLA's radar an advantage against electronic warfare aircraft, giving people a glimpse into the "invisible battle" between Chinese and American ships and aircraft.

The US EA-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft lands on an aircraft carrier

According to reports, the EA-18G Growler currently carried by US aircraft carriers is an electronic warfare aircraft manufactured by Boeing, mainly used for electronic jamming. The aircraft is developed based on the F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter and is equipped with various electronic warfare systems. It can suppress enemy reconnaissance and communication signals in all frequency bands and directions with high power. At the same time, the fighter can also launch anti-radiation missiles to carry out precise strikes on ship-borne radar systems. These capabilities make the Growler the core combat force of the US sea-air integration strategy.

The EA-18G Growler fighter is equipped with a variety of electronic jamming pods under its wings and on its wingtips.

However, the radar used by the EA-18G Growler fighter was produced 20 years ago. Although the US military has invested heavily in upgrading and modifying the aircraft since 2021 to adapt it to future wars, this does not mean that the electronic warfare aircraft is invincible. According to the Chinese scientific research team in the paper, China's intelligent perception radar has the capabilities of active environmental perception, timely transmission and reception design, intelligent processing and resource scheduling, which can effectively counter the electronic interference of the EA-18G fighter.

The report said that the Chinese Navy's modern ships are equipped with a variety of radars with different working principles and many different types of sensors. Chinese scientists and engineers have solved the bottleneck problem of massive heterogeneous data transmission and processing, enabling these devices to work together, thereby significantly reducing the interference effect of EA-18G fighters on single radars. The report also believes that China has made breakthroughs in maintaining high-speed and reliable communications of the fleet in complex electromagnetic environments. When the EA-18G launches interference on a Chinese warship, it will immediately be "counterattacked" by nearby ships. As a result, with the sharing of information between different ships, a huge "kill net" is formed, which can "flexibly, actively, quickly and intelligently counter the EA-18G fighter", realizing the transformation from "single resource confrontation" to "systematic detection resource confrontation".

The report also said that the Chinese Navy has changed its previous cautious approach and adopted a more proactive tactic, "taking defense as offense, taking multiple measures, optimizing the combination, and coordinating with other elements to fight against electronic warfare aircraft."

Chinese Navy Type 055 destroyer Nanchang

The report analysis believes that the Chinese official report on the Nanchang ship confirmed this tactical change. The destroyer broke the traditional formation mode of travel, advanced 100 nautical miles (185 kilometers), and with the support of the rear forces, prevented the US aircraft carrier fleet from approaching the PLA exercise area. In response, the US military dispatched carrier-based aircraft units, among which the EA-18G fighters may have adopted a combat mode known as "escort interference", forming a formation with other fighters to conduct electromagnetic signal interference or release dense false targets, with the aim of preventing the Nanchang ship from carrying out operations. However, the radar system on the Nanchang ship is still able to operate normally.

According to this statement, the EA-18G fighter jet attempted to suppress the Nanchang ship through strong electromagnetic interference, but failed to affect the Nanchang ship's radar and communication systems, and may have been locked by the radar instead. Moreover, the protective cover of the Nanchang ship's missile vertical launch device had even been opened at that time, which meant that the arrow was on the string.

Electronic warfare is mainly aimed at countermeasures against radar and communications, usually by creating false signals to make the other side receive wrong information, or using stronger signals to drown out the signals sent by the other side. In hot spots around the world, US electronic reconnaissance aircraft and electronic warfare aircraft can often be seen. They collect electronic intelligence by searching for the working signals and patterns of various communication equipment, electronic equipment and radar equipment. After processing and analysis, they can implement targeted electronic interference.

The EA-6B electronic warfare aircraft deployed on the USS Kitty Hawk, photographed in 2005

Looking back at the United States' previous foreign military operations, the reason why the U.S. military was invincible was largely due to the implementation of powerful electromagnetic suppression in the early stages of the war, thus paving the way for the first wave of air strike forces responsible for "kicking the door", thereby paralyzing the enemy's command center and then defeating the remaining forces one by one. The U.S. military has also always attached importance to the development of electronic jamming combat capabilities, and electronic warfare aircraft have become standard equipment on U.S. aircraft carriers.

However, with the emergence of new electronic countermeasures and the improvement of anti-interference technology, the U.S. military's trick of using electronic warfare aircraft to run rampant at the doorstep of other countries has become increasingly ineffective. The original intention was to show off its military power through electromagnetic suppression, but unexpectedly, it was suppressed by the opponent and even fell into the dilemma of being locked and shot down. This also reflects that the electronic interference, which is the combat advantage that the U.S. military relies on to maintain, is gradually being lost.

It is undeniable that China has indeed made considerable progress in the field of electronic warfare. As for whether the 055 destroyer's achievement is related to the dismissal of the commander of the US electronic warfare squadron as the South China Morning Post associates, it is difficult to draw a conclusion based on the analysis of a single paper. More importantly, no matter how external factors change, we only need to follow our own steps and plans, walk our own path, strive to improve our own scientific and military capabilities, and further lay a solid foundation for protecting national security.