Jamming devices tend to be portable in electronic warfare

The use of man-portable jamming devices is gaining popularity in electronic warfare. As the use of Improvised Explosive Device (IEDs) has increased in recent times, improved countermeasures, such as man-portable jamming devices are being used by ground troops.

The driving force behind the global military jammer market is the need for superior intelligence and precision attack. The advantage of present electronic jammer systems is that they combine support, protection, and attack functions in a single unit. They offer a variety of countermeasures (which can be automatically started) and enable real-time impact recording for military purposes. This helps the military to assess the operational efficiency of a tactic and consequently update their tactics in future in line with the evolving threats.

As potential adversaries adopt the use of unmanned aerial systems, the military is regularly looking for ways to jam their signals. But testing those systems can be tough, because jamming technology that can disrupt radios or GPS signals fall under tight restrictions within the United States, given how they indiscriminately affect unintended targets.

GPS signal jammer or transmitters that operate over public airwaves usually must gain approval of military, Federal Communications Commission or the Federal Aviation Administration, which makes training exercises with such devices problematic, often limiting their use to the wee hours of the morning.

A small direct-inject jammer tested recently at the National Training Center in California can be programmed to simulate jamming of radio signals that are used for electronic detection during training scenarios, the Army said in a release. These small devices require less power than earlier direct-inject jammers, which makes for a perfect fit for training centers where approval for such electronically denied environments previously was difficult.

China has installed equipment on two of its fortified outposts in the Spratly Islands capable of jamming communications and radar systems, a significant step in its creeping militarization of the South China Sea, U.S. officials say.