LIVE LONG AND PROSPER ON THE BATTLEFIELD
A QUICK GUIDE TO SPACE AND THE EMS FOR WARFIGHTERS

[T]he utilization of space has exponentially progressed, and consequently upended the American way of war.

Soldiers in a brutal clash suddenly come under devastating enemy fire. They key the radio, instantly transmitting a request for joint fires and an electronic attack on the enemy’s command network. Within seconds, munitions delivered with pinpoint accuracy silences the enemy’s guns, and the soldiers move on. This timeliness, precision, and multi-service integration was unimaginable a few generations ago, before space capabilities made today’s joint warfighting advantages possible.

Warfare has drastically evolved since World War II when hundreds of bombers darkened the skies with thousands of bombs to attempt to destroy one target. The Allies could attack once-safe rear areas but inflicted significant collateral damage and at great cost in aircraft and crew. Advances during the Cold War helped both accuracy and mitigated risk, but weapons still lacked surgical precision. During the first Gulf War, nascent space-based effects like the Global Positioning System (GPS) led to greatly improved targeting. Today, GPS-guided munitions provide flexible and exacting fires. Capitalizing on the past three decades of uncontested space dominance, the United States created highly effective weapon systems. However, multiple nations, including Russia and China, contest space today. Considering the landscape, this article presents the military’s organization of the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) and space domain and the fundamentals of space and EMS operations.

Why Space and the Electromagnetic Spectrum Matter

President Donald Trump claimed space as the newest warfighting domain in 2019. As will be demonstrated, space is critical for a number of warfighting systems with the EMS serving as the primary way to link satellites to users. Despite having rapidly matured since Sputnik’s launch in 1957, space has not experienced direct conflict…yet. However, the utilization of space has exponentially progressed, and consequently upended the American way of war. Electronic warfare has a slightly longer history going back to at least World War I, though  the modern EMS battlefield  is unrecognizable compared to past decades. The massive engagements in World War II have been replaced with precise and overwhelming fires exhibited in the Global War on Terror, coupled with exquisite intelligence and communication. Adversaries, however, have noticed space’s influence in recent conflicts, and have developed the means to manipulate the EMS to disrupt these capabilities.

Military Organization of the Electromagnetic Spectrum and Space Domain 

The EMS is ubiquitous and interacts to a degree with nearly every military capability. Oversight of EMS operations is resident within combatant commands, under a Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cell (JEMSOC) as the EMS coordinating authority (EMSCA). These cross-disciplinary, joint teams play a critical role as EMS operations involve signals exploitation, electromagnetic warfare, and spectrum management. EMS equities reside in commands’ J2 (signals intelligence), J3 (operations), and J6 (spectrum management) directorates.

As with most capabilities, the services play a major role in providing basic hardware, training, and operators that will conduct EMS operations. There is, however, a joint integrator as well. U.S. Strategic Command’s Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Center (JEC) is responsible for joint EMS force development and readiness, focusing on combatant commands.  The JEC is led by a two-star general and has two major subordinate organizations. The Joint Electronic Warfare Center in San Antonio, Texas, develops joint EMS doctrine, like JP 3-85, Joint Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations, and coordinates the combatant commands’ joint EMS cells. The Joint Center for Electromagnetic Readiness at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, assesses readiness of joint electromagnetic spectrum operations (JEMSO) capabilities, identifies gaps and limitations, and develops mitigation strategies and solutions for combatant commands.

The organization for space is quite different. As a separate warfighting domain, it has its very own four-star combatant command: U.S. Space Command (SPACECOM). SPACECOM, defines the final frontier as the Kármán Line, where the atmosphere dissipates into the vast darkness of space, at 62 miles (100 km) above Earth. Stretching from there to infinity (and beyond), SPACECOM has a gargantuan area of responsibility, but its primary focus is on near-Earth matters as opposed to threats deep in the cosmos. SPACECOM, at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado, employs members of all armed services, allies and, of course, Guardians from the U.S. Space Force (USSF).

SPACECOM is not the USSF, which is an independent service. In 2019, Air Force Space Command metamorphosized into the USSF, and separately, SPACECOM was resurrected out of Strategic Command. The USSF is small with one Guardian for every 100 soldiers (active, guard and reserve), but its mission is invaluable to the military. As part of the Department of the Air Force, the USSF is akin to the Marine Corps under the Department of the Navy, relying on the larger branch for certain services. The USSF organizes, trains, and equips space forces, while SPACECOM conducts operations in, from, and to space. This bureaucratic reshuffling of services follows on the heels of adversaries recognizing the importance of space. Chinese and Russian Space Force counterparts were inaugurated in 2015 to provide their own space effects. (Of note, China is currently rebranding a new Aerospace Force)

Space Operations Fundamentals

Space effects refer to a variety of products rendered from satellites. GPS is a prime example of a crucial space effect. GPS satellites send a signal to Earth that enables precision navigation and timing (PNT), vital for everything from executing stock market transactions, controlling traffic lights, guiding your child to school, or putting a missile on target. Other critical space effects include global communication, intelligence gathering, environmental monitoring, and missile warning. Modern warfare depends on these capabilities which take advantage of the basic orbits described in Figure 2.

Although modern warfare depends on space-based capabilities, orbits are vulnerable as they are predictable. To preserve our car-sized, multi-million-dollar investments, space operators control orbital assets 24/7 and execute regular “station keeping” to maintain satellites in useful positions and to provide software uploads. Moreover, constellations of satellites require a global ground control system to ensure unfettered access to space-based capabilities. Those ground capabilities require protection from kinetic and non-kinetic attacks. Adversaries could also disrupt our space-based capabilities by attacking satellites directly with terrestrial or space-based weapons. Satellites are also vulnerable to disruption and damage from radiation or space debris, natural or otherwise. Even tiny fragments can be devastating: a paint fleck in LEO travels at 17,500 mph and can impact a satellite like a bullet. Given the importance of space-based capabilities and their vulnerabilities, the USSF must vigilantly protect space assets.

To operate in our saturated information and EMS environment, warfighters must understand a few basics about the invisible waves surrounding us.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum: Conduit for Communications

All space-based capabilities depend on communication links to satellites. The EMS enables satellite control,allowing satellites to share data. Additionally, it connects terrestrial stations to satellites using uplinks (which send a signal to satellites) and downlinks (which send the signal back down to Earth).  

To operate in our saturated information and EMS environment, warfighters must understand a few basics about the invisible waves surrounding us. They move at the speed of light and are distinguishable by their wavelength (distance between the wave crests) and frequency (how often the wave oscillates). The frequency and wavelength are inversely related: as wavelengths get smaller, frequencies increase, and vice versa. The EMS ranges from gamma rays with subatomic wavelengths to much lower-frequency radio waves that can be hundreds of miles long. Data can be carried via the EMS through modulation. Lower-energy radio waves can be modulated to carry voice or low-throughput data. Radio waves generally travel as far as the line of sight (weather permitting they can be extended by propagation through the ionosphere), and higher frequency bands can carry more information, but lose distance without a large power output. Cell phone companies have discovered that techniques like orthogonal frequency division multiplexing can allow for simultaneous users in higher bands. Advanced radars and fifth-generation (5G) networks both operate in an increasingly congested space of microwave and millimeter wave bands. This can cause disagreements between telecoms and the DoD in the incredibly useful, mid-band “Goldilocks portion” of the spectrum, which are commercially advantageous (and contested!) frequencies for applications like satellite television, radio, and communications.

The EMS possesses defense and commercial applications that the U.S. government must manage. As such, the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration jointly share responsibility for regulating the radio portion of the EMS in the United States.  Similarly, EMS operations conducted overseas must be coordinated through host nations and international bodies, like the UN’s International Telecommunications Union, to deconflict with commercial and military uses. Joint warfighters must find ways to deconflict operations in congested parts of the spectrum by collaborating with these organizations, industry, and host nations, to ensure successful EMS operations through coordinated spectrum management.

Electromagnetic Warfare

All aspects of joint EMS operations are important, but joint warfighters should appreciate electromagnetic warfare, which consists of three main areas:

Electromagnetic attack (EA) refers to directed energy systems (lasers) or overwhelming sensors with energy (jamming) to deny, degrade, disrupt, or destroy an adversary’s combat capability. Recently, jamming enabled Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive, by disrupting Russian radars, drone control, and communications.

Electromagnetic protection (EP) guards friendly electromagnetic capabilities against adversary attacks and hazards. EP increases the likelihood of transmitting and receiving joint radar and communications signals. Signal processing, equipment hardening, frequency agility, and noise/flare rejection are common EP measures.

Electromagnetic Warfare Support (ES) senses and identifies EM signals. This exploitation is similar to signals intelligence (SIGINT), however, it is not directed by an intelligence authority, rather ES is tasked by an operational commander and employed for immediate action.

Applying Electromagnetic Warfare Basics

Readiness matters for joint EMS forces because just like a terrestrial battle, fighting in the EMS involves communications, fires, exploitation, and maneuver. Spectrum management is an enabler for electromagnetic warfare, as communication nets must be systematically constructed to connect assets. Simultaneously, electromagnetic attack should blind and deafen the enemy by disrupting their use of the EMS. However, one must consider the tradeoff in exploiting an adversary’s communications and sensors versus denying them through jamming and anti-radiation missiles. Operating in the EMS requires agility, meaning electromagnetic protection capabilities like frequency hopping, occurring faster than human cognition, must be built into equipment, allowing for rapid channel switching and anti-jam capability.

To successfully employ electromagnetic protection at the tactical level, commanders must recall how to employ terrain masking, emissions control, and novel hide-and-seek training and operate in GPS-denied environments with skills like land navigation. Additionally, commanders need to consider how they can exploit adversary signals through signals intelligence. Often Critical Commander’s Information Requirements will require the EMS in one form or another. Commanders must ensure these vital conduits exhibit confidentiality, integrity, and availability to ensure information protection. Finally, joint-mindedness in the EMS matters. The Hudson Institute recommends that DoD prioritizes adaptability and interoperability of EMS equipment over project performance. This defense management challenge requires strategic leaders who understand EMS basics to fight and win on today’s battlefield.

Warfighters Must Know Space and EMS Basics

Today’s warfighter must understand the importance of space and EMS on the contemporary battlefield. Future conflict will likely be conducted across all domains, and a basic understanding of these two arenas will aid national security professionals when they engage space and EMS subject matter experts on a joint or coalition staff. While this brief article is not comprehensive, we offer that it provides a starting point for professionals to continue their studies of space and EMS. Studying these two arenas can help joint warfighters “live long and prosper” on the battlefield.

David Zesinger is an active-duty U.S. Space Force Space Operations Officer. He currently serves on the U.S. Army War College faculty in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations.

Michael Posey is an active-duty E-2 Hawkeye Naval Flight Officer. He currently serves on the U.S. Army War College faculty in the Department of Military Strategy, Planning, and Operations.

The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Army War College, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, the U.S. Space Force or the Department of Defense.

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