L12 Pre-flight

L12 Pre-flight#

Block 2: RF Electronic Warfare — Lesson 12: Electromagnetic Support Work this before L12. Pre-flights are never collected — in class, anyone may be cold-called to present any question at the board, and that recitation is the participation grade.

Assumed pre-class reading#

  • L11 wrap-up

  • The Jupyter Book Reading page for L12 — ES vs ELINT, the four threat-warning functions, the RWR block diagram, and pulse descriptor words.

Quiz questions (5 items, ~5 minutes)#

Q1. (Multiple choice) The key difference between ES and ELINT is:

  • [ ] (a) ES is airborne; ELINT is ground-based

  • [ ] (b) ES collects just enough to identify type and mode now; ELINT collects deep parametric data for analysis and library building

  • [ ] (c) ES uses antennas; ELINT uses optical sensors

  • [ ] (d) There is no difference; the terms are interchangeable

Q2. (Multiple choice) The four basic functions of every threat warning system, in order, are:

  • [ ] (a) Search, Acquire, Track, Engage

  • [ ] (b) Observe, Detect, Classify, Alert

  • [ ] (c) Detect, Jam, Deceive, Evade

  • [ ] (d) Monitor, Record, Analyze, Report

Q3. (Multiple choice) An RWR must monitor tens of GHz of spectrum at once. The price of that bandwidth is:

  • [ ] (a) Nothing — bandwidth is free in receive-only systems

  • [ ] (b) A higher thermal noise floor (\(N = kTB\)), hence reduced sensitivity

  • [ ] (c) Longer antennas

  • [ ] (d) Higher transmit power requirements

Q4. (Short answer) An RWR measures one pulse and gets frequency, pulse width, AoA, and power. What additional measurement becomes available once it has two or more pulses from the same emitter, and why is it so diagnostic?

Q5. (Multiple choice) Your RWR scope goes completely quiet mid-ingress. The safest interpretation is:

  • [ ] (a) All threats are destroyed

  • [ ] (b) The aircraft is now undetectable

  • [ ] (c) Nothing that radiates is currently illuminating you — EMCON threats, passive seekers, and silent terminal guidance remain possible

  • [ ] (d) The RWR has failed

Contents