Electronic Warfare Definition

EW is defined as “military action to exploit the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum which encompasses the interception and identification of EM emissions, the employment of EM energy, including directed energy, to reduce or prevent hostile use of the EM spectrum and actions to ensure its effective use by own or friendly forces”.
Or, put simply, EW is used to:
• Exploit the adversary’s use of EM spectrum
• Deny the adversary the use of EM spectrum
• Protect the EM spectrum for own or friendly use
EW comprises 3 sub-components:
• . Electronic Warfare Support Measures (ESM)
• . Electronic Countermeasures (ECM)
• . Electronic Protective Measures (EPM)