Achieving Great Situational Awareness with Gripen's Electronic Warfare System
Gripen's new and improved Electronic Warfare (EW) system gives the pilot an enviable tactical advantage in modern warfare. How does it do that? Episode 8 of the True Collaboration Season 3 tells us all about it.
“Electronic Warfare is actually about the ability to use and control signals ranging from infrared to radio and even high radar frequencies. So it has a very high frequency range,” explains Per Sjöstrand, Technical Product Manager Electronic Warfare- Saab. This ability allows Gripen to obtain various data and information collected from sensors and radars, process it and then present it to the pilot on the aircraft’s WAD (Wide Area Display). This way, the pilot remains aware of his environment and even knows the actions that need to be taken before the opponent can even detect the aircraft.
Electronic Warfare can also be used in several ways, as explained by Col Av Luciano Barbosa Magalhães, Director of IAOp- Brazilian Air Force. In combat situations, the EW system can help Gripen to detect a number of aircraft from great distances while being immune to different types of electronic interferences. With the help of the EW system, the pilot can take countermeasures against the opponent’s radars while increasing the survivability of the pilot.
“Gripen's EW system is a great situational awareness tool for the pilot providing a full view of the surrounding area, therefore enabling the tactical advantage of attacking first,” Av Luciano adds.