In January 2026, the U.S. military’s operation against Venezuela’s leader Nicolás Maduro astonishes the world. The EA-18G “Growler” squadron—the electronic warfare variant of the U.S. F-18—plays a decisive role in this operation. Specializing in electromagnetic warfare, the jets play a key role in neutralizing the South American nation’s air defenses. This example clearly illustrates that modern air warfare is no longer decided solely by kinetic capabilities. A significant part of military conflicts has shifted to an invisible dimension: the electromagnetic spectrum.
Communication systems, radars, data links, navigation methods, and sensors form the backbone of modern armed forces.
Whoever can jam, deceive, or (temporarily) disable these systems in their adversary’s arsenal gains significant operational advantages, as the U.S. has demonstrated in Venezuela. Sometimes even before the first weapon is deployed.
The critical objection that Venezuela’s Russian-made air defense systems no longer meet current standards does nothing to change this fact.
Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA), commonly known as jamming, is a key tool in this context:
Targeted electromagnetic attacks from the air that disrupt enemy sensors and communication networks in order to increase one’s own freedom of action, reduce the risk to the crew, and make military operations more successful.
The growing capabilities of modern air defence systems
The challenges facing air forces have changed significantly in recent years. Modern Integrated Air Defense Systems (IADS) combine different types of sensors, radar systems, air defense missiles, and command-and-control networks into highly interconnected defense architectures.
These include multi-band radars with high frequency agility, digital signal processing technologies, networked sensor and effector chains, as well as passive detection methods and improved defense mechanisms against conventional jamming.
Overall, the number of sensors available on the battlefield is steadily increasing. In addition to ground-based radars, airborne early warning systems, unmanned platforms, and space-based reconnaissance systems are playing an increasingly important role.
For attackers in the electromagnetic spectrum, this in turn means that conventional jamming approaches are increasingly reaching their limits. Simply transmitting strong jamming signals is often no longer sufficient to sustainably impair modern defense systems with their various components. Developers and armed forces face several complex challenges in this regard:
Speed
Systems today evolve much faster than they did just a few decades ago. Software-based architectures make it possible to adjust signal parameters on short notice and introduce new operating modes. Consequently, AEA must be able to detect and classify unknown or recently altered signals in near real time and initiate appropriate countermeasures.
Dense environment
Modern operational environments are characterized by a high density of electromagnetic emissions. Military and civilian communication systems, radars, data links, and satellite connections compete for limited frequency bands. The challenge lies in precisely identifying relevant threats and countering them in a targeted manner without compromising one’s own systems or allied forces.
Response times
In modern air defense systems, only a few seconds elapse between target acquisition, target tracking, and weapon firing. To operate effectively, AEA systems must act even faster—that is, they must be able to automatically analyze threats and initiate countermeasures without delay.
Limited platform resources
Airborne systems are subject to the strictest requirements regarding weight, power consumption, and cooling. At the same time, the need for higher transmit power, greater bandwidth, and more complex signal processing is growing. The integration of high-performance airborne electronic attack capabilities on both manned and unmanned platforms therefore remains a key technological challenge.
From classic noise jamming to cognitive Electromagnetic Warfare
Technological developments in the field of AEA are undergoing a significant shift. While such systems have long relied primarily on so-called noise jamming—that is, masking enemy signals with broadband noise—significantly more intelligent methods are now gaining prominence. These include:
1) Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM): DRFM-based systems can digitally capture, store, modify, and retransmit incoming radar signals. This creates realistic decoys, falsified range information, or manipulated target signatures. In contrast to pure noise jamming, this method specifically misleads the adversary.
2) Adaptive and cognitive jamming: Modern airborne jammers continuously analyze the electromagnetic environment and dynamically adapt their jamming strategies. With the help of powerful processors and increasingly AI-supported methods, the adversary’s defensive measures can be detected more quickly, and optimal countermeasures can be selected automatically.
3) Multi-domain integration: AEA is increasingly being integrated with cyber, reconnaissance, and command operations. This creates a comprehensive approach to controlling the electromagnetic spectrum, in which sensor technology, data analysis, and electronic effects are closely interlinked.
Why situational awareness Is the key to success
Effective electromagnetic attacks require a precise situational awareness. The ability to detect, locate, and identify electromagnetic emissions is increasingly becoming a critical factor for success.
Without detailed knowledge of the threat environment, even high-performance jammers cannot operate at their full potential.
For this reason, modern armed forces are increasingly investing in the integration of Electronic Support Measures (ESM), signal intelligence (SIGINT), and electronic attack (EA).
The goal is to extract actionable insights from large volumes of electromagnetic data and immediately translate them into operational actions.
HENSOLDT's contribution to the next generation of Electromagnetic Warfare
As a leading provider of sensor solutions and protection systems, HENSOLDT—as a “neo-system house”—develops complex technologies that meet the growing demands of modern air operations.
A prime example from the field of Electromagnetic Warfare (EW) is the PEGASUS (Persistent German Airborne Surveillance System) program. It equips the German Armed Forces with long-range signal-detection surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
At the heart of PEGASUS is HENSOLDT’s SIGINT solution, Kalaetron Integral—a next-generation technology that encompasses both the airborne mission system and the complementary ground segment. While the airborne segment is used for the acquisition and reconnaissance of relevant signals, the ground segment is responsible for mission support and the further analysis of the acquired data.
As the prime contractor, HENSOLDT is responsible for the development and functional integration of the mission system, the ground segment, and the software tools for data analysis and correlation. In collaboration with Lufthansa Technik Defense and Bombardier Defense, three systems will initially be developed based on the Global 6000 business jet.
The field of airborne electromagnetic attack also offers tremendous potential for HENSOLDT as a next-generation systems integrator.
With over 50 years of experience in developing EW technologies, HENSOLDT has developed Kalaetron Attack, an airborne EA solution from the Kalaetron family.
The AESA- and DRFM-based system enables digital target acquisition and signal jamming. It can counter more than ten threats simultaneously and provides protection against attacks from multiple sources.
Kalaetron Attack is available in three different configurations: As a stand-off jammer for jamming at long ranges outside the weapon engagement zone (WEZ), as an escort jammer for spectrum dominance at medium ranges, and as a stand-in jammer for operations in close proximity to enemy air defense systems.
When used in combination, all three ensure that friendly forces can neutralize the enemy’s defenses and successfully accomplish their mission.
Seamless interoperability through a scalable system-of-systems architecture
As a neo-system integrator with federal government participation, HENSOLDT also ensures, in this area, the safeguarding of the field of electromagnetic warfare—as defined by the federal government—as a key technology for national security and the defense industry —to ensure the technological and economic independence of the Federal Republic of Germany and the alliance.
Outlook: The future belongs to dominance in the electromagnetic spectrum
The importance of AEA will continue to grow in the coming years. The ongoing digitization of military systems, the proliferation of networked air defense architectures, and the integration of artificial intelligence are fundamentally changing the requirements for electromagnetic warfare.
In the future, successful air operations will depend not only on the performance of individual platforms, but increasingly on the ability to understand, control, and selectively influence the electromagnetic spectrum.
For armed forces, this represents a paradigm shift: Electromagnetic warfare is evolving from a supporting capability into a key factor for operational success.
HENSOLDT and its partners are helping to lay the technological foundation for this with innovative sensor, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare solutions.