Electromagnetic Spectrum Conflict in Space - Threats To C4ISR

NATO countries are increasingly reliant on space-based capabilities for economic prosperity, for defence, and for cross-domain joint military operations. Russia and China are assigning strategic priority to space superiority and may view NATO countries in space, and particularly the US, as an obstacle to achieving space supremacy. This priority comes at a time when NATO forces are becoming more dependent on space platform infrastructure to support C4ISR (Command, Control, Computing, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance). Space platforms also provide ‘Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT)’ information, which is not only essential to C4ISR, but also to the economic prosperity of every country in the world. Latest Chinese and Russian developments in weapons aimed at denying the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM Spectrum) carried by land, sea, and air (terrestrial) platforms already pose a significant risk to NATO’s effective warfighting capability. EM Spectrum weapons aim at degrading or destroying satellite platforms supporting C4ISR functionality used together with their terrestrial equivalents would significantly degrade NATO’s military effectiveness and cause signification problems to commerce and social cohesion.

This webinar will provide an overview to the space-based platforms that support C4ISR and PNT together with a range of EM Spectrum weapons that could cause a denial or degradation of service to military and essential commercial users. These weapons include EM Pulse, directed energy, jamming, close-proximity laser, and cyber. The webinar will conclude with a discussion on preventative measures to mitigate the effectiveness of these weapons, and an overview to ‘kinetic kill satellites’ currently being employed by the Chinese and Russian governments.