Operation "Igloo White" the electronic warfare on the battlefield

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Operation "Igloo White" the electronic warfare on the battlefield

On the modern battlefield, the aircraft and ground operators are dropping various sensors in the combat area. The mission of those sensors is Electronic Intelligence, acoustic, seismic, and chemical intelligence. That means that sensors are taking air samples. They are also recording the sounds of the vehicle's engines and enemy speech.

They are also sending visual images and other interesting data from the area. The sounds of the vehicles and speech of the people can compile with other records. And that thing can use to track the enemy sympathizers and supporters. Also, the engine sounds of enemy vehicles are telling the conditions of motors. And a good condition of the engine tells that vehicle is new or it has repaired. The spectroscopic analysis is uncovering the chemical composition of the fuel and the powder of ammunition.

All electromagnetic systems are not so harmless as some observation sensors that can aim at the location of the enemy and aim the attack against those targets. There are also systems, what has an ECM (Electronic Counter Measure) role, whose purpose is to jam the radio and data communication. But there are also acoustic weapons, that are sending the infra- and ultrasound to the enemy. Sometimes those systems are sending the "white noise". The purpose of those systems is to disturb the concentration of the enemy operators.

But there are also systems whose purpose is to transmit speech by using the frequencies that the human ear cannot detect. The purpose of those systems is to provocate the enemy operators to work against their superiorities. There is also microwave-based systems, that will heat the weapons and cause the detonation of the ammunition.

During the Vietnam War, the United States intelligence began an operation called "Igloo White". During this operation, the military intelligence dropped acoustic and seismic sensors to the jungle. And the purpose of those sensors was to send the information of things that Vietnamese guerillas and North-Vietnamese officials talked about. The system also transmitted the data of the engine sounds of the vehicles. And where the people and vehicles moved in that jungle.

Today the similar systems are still in use, and they can drop from fast aircraft. The quad-copter based transporters can move them to different locations, and those sensors are hard to detect. Normally the sensor is in passive mode, where it records the data, and when it gets the wake-up signal, which can send by using various radio systems, the sensor can send so-called data burst to the receiver.

Image: https://alchetron.com/Operation-Igloo-White

https://curiosityanddarkmatter.home.blog/2021/01/16/operation-igloo-white-the-electronic-warfare-on-the-battlefield/