Armada Analysis - Podcasts – Détails, épisodes et analyse

Estonia is experiencing the challenges of Russian hybrid warfare first hand and is most likely in the direct path of any future military action by Moscow to reconstitute the former USSR.

Estonia is on the frontline of efforts by the Russian government to destabilise the governments, economies and societies of the Baltic nations. Like her other Baltic neighbours, the invasion and occupation of Estonia will be key to any future attempts by Russia’s president Vladimir Putin to rebuild the former Soviet Union.

So-called ‘sub-threshold’ actions by Moscow, which aim to amplify destabilisation but are short of outright war, are occurring in the electromagnetic spectrum. Estonia has witnessed recent disruption to civil aviation strongly suspected to have been caused by Russian GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) jamming. GNSS jamming has also caused disruption to everyday life in Estonia. Ride sharing services and food deliveries are two consumer services affected by Russian GNSS attack.

At the same time, Estonia has faced regular and significant state-sponsored Russian cyberattacks. Barring a major political change in Russia, there are few signs that Moscow’s hybrid warfare against Estonia will cease any time soon.

However, it is not all bad news. Domestic science and technology ingenuity is playing its part. Estonia has world-class innovation focused on nullifying and reducing the severity of nefarious Russian actions in the spectrum. Tallinn’s strategy writ large is not just to prevent Russian invasion but to deter it.

In this latest edition of Armada’s Radioflash! podcast we chat about these and other issues with John Longhurst, chief executive officer of Tangent Link and longtime Estonian resident.

Artificial intelligence and machine learning are two much-heralded technologies set to revolutionise signals intelligence collection, processing and dissemination.

An increasingly congested radio spectrum is set to challenge the limits of human cognition in the search for the signal of interest. In this episode of Radioflash! we catch up with Patrick ‘Krown’ Killingsworth, EpiSci’s  director of autonomy projects.

We define the terms Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) and their unique capabilities. ML algorithms are trained on huge amounts of data which makes these algorithms great for processing huge amounts of data, a key requirement in Signals Intelligence (SIGINT). The application of AI and ML in SIGINT is not necessarily about replacing the human but helping the SIGINT operator sort these data. Nonetheless, the continuing introduction of AI and ML into SIGINT analysis prompts concern and enthusiasm in equal measure. Ensuring that enough data are available for training algorithms creates challenges given the paucity of data which the SIGINT cadre may be interested in.

We talk about the risks of using synthetic data for training and tackling the risk by anticipating potential problems from the start. AI- and ML-enabled SIGINT systems continue to get smarter, faster and more accurate. The future brings challenges in terms of moving this SIGINT technology from the strategic level to the tactical edge, although edge computing in the tactical domain should help no end in this regard.

It is a truism of military theory that the road to victory is harder for the side which does not win and sustain air supremacy.

It is now over eighteen months since the Russian government commenced its second invasion of Ukraine. The conflict has seen the shattering of some military aphorisms and the affirmation of others. One that has stood this test of time is that the achievement of air superiority and supremacy is a prerequisite for victory.

To date, neither the Russian nor Ukrainian military has established air superiority, the overture to securing air supremacy. There are subtle, yet important differences between these conditions: Air superiority means one side largely prevents the other from using airpower. Air supremacy means that opposing airpower is all but nullified.

Suppression of enemy air defences forms a key part of what the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation calls the Offensive Counter-Air mission (OCA). In turn, OCA is the tactical embodiment of the quest for air superiority and supremacy. Russian and Ukrainian airpower has performed energetic OCA efforts, but air superiority remains elusive for both sides.

In this podcast we are joined by Colonel Jeffrey H. ‘Fisch’ Fischer, a European and global security expert, Ukraine watcher and author of the Curt Nover series of thrillers. We discuss initial perceptions of Russian airpower and ground-based air defence strengths. Premature predictions of the ineffectiveness of Ukrainian airpower are questioned, while Ukrainian success in destroying Russian air defence systems are highlighted. Why is Russia’s use of the electromagnetic spectrum seeming to contribute to Russian Air Force fratricide? What role have uninhabited aerial vehicles played in the battle for air supremacy? Will the Link-16 tactical datalink be used by the Ukrainian Air Force and what effect might this have on the battle? Moreover, how is Ukraine’s military contributing to the ongoing OCA battle? Should Ukraine win the OCA battle, how might this achievement affect the wider war? All these questions fall under the Radioflash! spotlight. Tune in to find out more.

Milrem Robotics has made impressive strides in developing innovative robotics solutions for challenging environments.

Established in 2013, Milrem developed Type-X, which was the first RCV designed for unmanned operations, as well as the renowned THeMIS which is currently part of the robotics program in 16 countries. 

In this episode, we are joined by Kuldar Väärsi, the CEO and Founder of Milrem Robotics. Having recently joined the Platforms & Systems cluster of EDGE, one of the world’s leading advanced technology and defence groups, Kuldar sheds light on Milrem’s growth strategy and ambitious autonomous and robotics roadmap, giving listeners a glimpse into the current trends in the UGV market and the future of robotic warfare.

As near-peer adversaries continue to develop and deploy advanced electronic warfare capabilities, the warfighter’s ability to operate in congested and contested electromagnetic spectrum environments has emerged as a critical need.

Silvus Technologies Jimi Henderson joins Armada’s military communications webpage and monthly newsletter editor Dr. Thomas Withington on this special podcast to examine the challenges of establishing and using tactical communications networks in congested and contested environments. We look at how Silvus Technologies is responding to those challenges to provide the security, speed, reliability, and electronic warfare resiliency needed to achieve Spectrum Dominance.

Information is a strategic resource, it always was, but with fake news and disinformation by nefarious actors very much on the agenda, its manipulation risks having a profound effect on our democracies.

How do we manoeuvre in the information space? What steps should governments and militaries be taking to ensure we are safeguarded against disinformation’s adverse effects? In our latest Radioflash! podcast we talk to Ewen Stockbridge, chief executive officer of 360ISR. 360ISR is an operational support company specialising in the field of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. We chat to Mr. Stockbridge about these challenges, and more.

Multi-Domain Integration risks creating challenges for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control, but these are not insurmountable, argues Major Erik Bamford.

Once again, this year’s Association of Old Crows (AOC) Electronic Warfare Europe conference and exhibition was a resounding success. Held in the delightful city of Bonn, Western Germany, Multi-Domain Integration (MDI) was the event’s overarching theme. MDI sees the integration of all personnel, capabilities and bases across all services to perform synchronous operations at all levels of war. This risks creating headaches for electromagnetic spectrum operations command and control. Major Erik Bamford, principle electronic warfare staff officer in the Norwegian armed forces and director of the AOC’s region 1 covering Europe, Africa, the Middle East and India, made this the theme of his presentation. In this Radioflash! podcast, he explains how these challenges can be addressed and overcome.

Keen-eyed readers of Armada’s military communications webpage may remember an article we ran in April that looked at tropospheric radio.

The article discussed the British Army’s recent acquisition of a tropospheric communications system. As the name suggests, tropospheric techniques exploit the troposphere. This is a layer of the atmosphere stretching up to 43,000 feet (13,106 metres) above the Earth’s surface. When aimed at an angle towards the troposphere, some radio signals can jump over the horizon reaching distances of up to 500 kilometres (311 miles).

Tropospheric communications are proving attractive for long-range military communications, joining their high frequency and satellite communications brethren. Why is tropospheric radio in vogue? What can it do that other forms of communication cannot? To answer these, and other questions, we are joined on this Radioflash! podcast by Daniel Gizinski, Comtech Telecommunication’s chief strategy officer.

The electromagnetic spectrum has never been so congested. This is only likely to get worse. Training is a key part of meeting this challenge as we explore in episode 3 of the Radioflash! podcast.

Ericsson predicted the world would have one billion 5G subscribers by early 2023. This could grow to five billion by 2028. As the ether gets more saturated, hostile actors have more places to hide their signals of interest. Moreover, new techniques like artificial intelligence are coming to the fore to help the electronic warfare expert find the signal in the noise. Joining us on the podcast to help make sense of these challenges is Taph Willumsen, head of training and cyber and electromagnetic activities, at MASS.

DSEI Japan 2023 Senior Military Advisor Air Vice Marshal (Ret) Gary Waterfall in conversation with Armada/AMR Editor-in-Chief Andrew Drwiega.