{"228881":{"#nid":"228881","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Electronic Warfare Development Targets Fully Adaptive Threat Response Technology","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen U.S pilots encounter enemy air defenses, onboard electronic warfare (EW) systems protect them by interfering with incoming radar signals \u2013 a technique known as electronic attack (EA) or jamming. Conversely, electronic protection (EP) technology prevents hostile forces from using EA methods to disable U.S. radar equipment assets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDefeating hostile radar helps shield aircraft from ground-to-air missiles and other threats, so it\u0027s a military priority to ensure that EW systems can defeat any opposing radar technology.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), which has supported U.S. electronic warfare capabilities for decades, a research team is developing a new generation of advanced radio frequency (RF) jammer technology. The project, known as Angry Kitten, is utilizing commercial electronics, custom hardware development, novel machine-learning software and a unique test bed to evaluate unprecedented levels of adaptability in EW technology. Angry Kitten has been internally funded by GTRI to investigate advanced methods that can counter increasingly sophisticated EW threats.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022We\u0027re developing fully adaptive and autonomous capabilities that aren\u0027t currently available in jammers,\u0022 said research engineer Stan Sutphin. \u0022We believe a cognitive electronic warfare approach, based on machine-learning algorithms and sophisticated hardware, will result in threat-response systems that offer significantly higher levels of electronic attack and electronic protection capabilities, and will provide enhanced security for U.S. combat aircraft.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhen an EW encounter begins, the Angry Kitten system chooses an optimal jamming technique from among many available options, explained Sutphin, who leads a GTRI development team that includes senior research engineer Roger Dickerson and senior research scientist Aram Partizian.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAs the engagement progresses, the next-generation system is designed to adapt. It will assess how effective its jamming is against the threat and quickly modify its approach if necessary.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAngry Kitten research also includes investigation of cognitive learning algorithms that allow the jammer to independently assess and respond to novel opposing technology. The team is developing techniques to enable an EW system to respond effectively should it encounter unfamiliar hostile radar techniques.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMoreover, the flexibility of the Angry Kitten system allows it to represent a range of threat EA systems. That will help to support the development of new and improved EP measures.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAdaptive Digital Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETraditionally, Sutphin explained, radar jamming has consisted of two basic approaches.\u0026nbsp; One employs mechanical techniques that reflect radar beams back at the sender using chaff material spread through the air behind the carrying platform. The other uses electronic techniques to emit powerful electromagnetic signals that interfere with incoming hostile radar beams. But these techniques are relatively basic, and they involve overt suppression strategies that are often obvious to the other side.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday\u0027s top EW systems are more subtle, thanks to digital techniques. The most advanced technology today \u2013 digital radio frequency memory (DRFM) \u2013 can deceive an enemy by recording his received radar signals, manipulating them and sending back false information that seems to be real.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022A DRFM jammer is a very effective way of adding clutter to the scene without just using unsophisticated noise-jamming techniques,\u0022 Sutphin said. \u0022You can create false targets, or hide real targets, using the enemy\u0027s own waveforms against him.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe GTRI team believes that countering such techniques will lead to the development of increasingly more precise digital techniques for radar electronic protection (EP). That could spark an equivalent race for more advanced jammer techniques.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe need an approach to more quickly evaluate advances in digital RF signal generation, and to rapidly field countermeasures without expensive hardware upgrades,\u201d said Tom McDermott, GTRI\u2019s director of research.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the first phase of developing a next-generation system, the GTRI team completed an advanced jamming system prototype. This custom hardware utilizes a wideband tunable transceiver system, and is built using open architecture\/open source approaches that are low-cost and enable operators to quickly modify the system in response to changing conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is currently developing machine-learning algorithms that will allow the Angry Kitten system to continually assess its environment and switch among the best methods for jamming incoming threats. The ultimate goal is a robust platform that will characterize any threat emitter and respond in real time in the most effective way.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA Unique Test Bed\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EToday, DRFM jammers employ a computer-based \u0022library\u0022 of known threats that are used to identify and neutralize incoming signals, Sutphin explained. DRFM equipment may also include an electronic-intelligence (ELINT) capability, which monitors and collects information on enemy signals and jammers. The ELINT data gathered may eventually be used \u2013 possibly weeks, months, or years later \u2013 to improve U.S. threat-response techniques.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022What we want is to perform those same ELINT analysis and adaptive-response tasks in seconds \u2013 while the jamming is occurring \u2013 not months later,\u0022 Sutphin said. \u0022And obviously our system must work autonomously, because there\u0027s no time for human input.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo support the current effort, the researchers are utilizing a GTRI-designed tool called the enhanced radar test bed. Devised by a team led by Partizian, the test bed simulates opposing radar signals and enables convenient, low-cost and highly realistic testing of jammers.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe test bed is an important asset in the development of the Angry Kitten system, Sutphin said.\u0026nbsp; It offers the ability to collect realistic, representative jammer data on advanced waveforms. It can be used to represent virtually any known threat \u2013 and even hypothetical radar systems that don\u2019t currently exist.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe test bed allows the team to rapidly prototype a software approach, test it out against simulated enemy hardware, and come up with high-fidelity data. The researchers can perform this work without having to build or acquire actual hardware radar systems or jammers, or engage in expensive flight tests.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0022And we can do it all in a lab, behind closed doors,\u0022 Sutphin said. \u0022This is a good approach for us, because it\u0027s not only effective and low-cost, it\u0027s quite secure.\u0022\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EResearch News\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Institute of Technology\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E177 North Avenue\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAtlanta, Georgia\u0026nbsp; 30332-0181\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMedia Relations Contacts\u003C\/strong\u003E: Lance Wallace (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:lance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elance.wallace@gtri.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)(404-407-7280) or John Toon (\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E)(404-894-6986).\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWriter\u003C\/strong\u003E: Rick Robinson\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EAt the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), a research team is developing a new generation of advanced radio frequency (RF) jammer technology. The project, known as Angry Kitten, is utilizing commercial electronics, custom hardware development, novel machine-learning software and a unique test bed to evaluate unprecedented levels of adaptability in EW technology.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A research team is developing a new generation of advanced radio frequency (RF) jammer technology."}],"uid":"27303","created_gmt":"2013-08-14 16:43:11","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:14:42","author":"John Toon","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2013-08-15T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2013-08-15T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"228851":{"id":"228851","type":"image","title":"Testing Angry Kitten","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"Testing Angry Kitten","file":{"fid":"197478","name":"ak2.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak2_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak2_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1653077,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ak2_0.jpg?itok=Bzpp92rF"}},"228861":{"id":"228861","type":"image","title":"Testing Angry Kitten2","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"Testing Angry Kitten2","file":{"fid":"197479","name":"ak4.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak4_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak4_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1128563,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ak4_0.jpg?itok=vXbUFKA5"}},"228871":{"id":"228871","type":"image","title":"Testing Angry Kitten3","body":null,"created":"1449243582","gmt_created":"2015-12-04 15:39:42","changed":"1475894901","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:48:21","alt":"Testing Angry Kitten3","file":{"fid":"197480","name":"ak3.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak3_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/ak3_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1369464,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/ak3_0.jpg?itok=cG3N795U"}}},"media_ids":["228851","228861","228871"],"groups":[{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"147","name":"Military Technology"}],"keywords":[{"id":"71561","name":"Angry Kitten"},{"id":"71581","name":"electronic defense"},{"id":"71591","name":"electronic wafare"},{"id":"416","name":"GTRI"},{"id":"2621","name":"radar"},{"id":"365","name":"Research"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39481","name":"National Security"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EJohn Toon\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EResearch News\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:jtoon@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Ejtoon@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E404-894-6986\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["jtoon@gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}