Hammer of the Gods?

I hope the name doesn't mean we are counting on a silver bullet electronic warfare system to win battles. But if it is simply a useful hammer in the tool kit, I'm okay with that.

The Navy, Army, and Space Force are testing a new electronic warfare system:

Because Hammer of the Gods keeps a low electromagnetic signature, meaning it does not broadcast in a way that makes it easy for an enemy to detect and target, it can push forward into contested areas and deliver what the Army describes as multi-domain effects at the forward edge of operations, essentially projecting electronic warfare capability into the thick of a fight rather than staying safely in the rear.

If it is a defensive weapon, you'd just mount it on your ship or on a vehicle in a platoon, no? 

It sounds like the weapon is supposed to get close to the enemy to crack open their defenses by breaking down their cohesion based on accurate Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems to make them vulnerable to our own combined arms attack:

It is an emitter, a piece of hardware that broadcasts electromagnetic signals, built to deliver an expanded suite of command-and-control capabilities alongside a wider set of electronic warfare functions from a highly deployable, low-signature platform. 

I get the Army and Navy. But how is Space Force going to use it? In space against space targets? Dropped from orbit to support Navy and Army forces in combat like the old Rods from God idea? (Even though back then I thought the idea was gold-plated nonsense when precision weapons launched closer to or on the Earth were much cheaper.)

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Image from the article.

Spreading Out the Attack Helicopters?

Is spreading out Army helicopters on ships and remote sites the means of sustaining air power in the face of lethal threats to airfields?

An Army Apache attack helicopter operated from the deck of a Navy amphibious warfare ship:

The demonstration shows how the U.S. military is increasing the mobility and survivability of its attack aviation by enabling Apaches to operate from ships, islands and expeditionary sites, complicating an adversary’s ability to target a limited number of fixed airfields across the Indo-Pacific.

If the Army wants more sea platforms for its Apaches, may I suggest The AFRICOM PACOM Queen, that I discussed in Military Review? 

As long as we have these helicopters in our arsenal, sure. Dispersing assets will help. Unless enemy cheap missiles and drones are numerous enough to find and strike any potentially suitable flat area or ship within helicopter range. 

In the long run, drones may be superior to attack helicopters. Even if the drones aren't cheap suicide drones because of the need to put expensive counter-measures on the drones to survive expanding defenses.  

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Picture from the initial article. 

Spanish Civil War in a Hard Drive

The Germans and Italians learned a lot of lessons from the Spanish Civil War before World War II by sending expeditions to fight and learn lessons about weapon design and tactics. Ukraine has made that kind of experience something they can sell without the buyer spending lives by sending an expedition.

That's interesting:

The mass of recorded data generated by the Ukraine conflict is strategically and tactically invaluable for the United States and its allies. ... 

Few militaries have fought a high-intensity drone war at this scale, giving Ukraine an unmatched volume of combat data for training military AI. Successful strikes show AI what works. Failed missions reveal how Russian electronic warfare, camouflage, weather, or air defenses defeated a drone, allowing future software to adapt faster.

That is powerful information that provides Ukraine leverage in defense industry collaboration and diplomacy.

Truly, that which does not kill you makes you stronger. 

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: I made the image with Bing.

The Winter War of 2022 Ponders Insurrection

 

Putin insists the war must go on until Ukraine is defeated. He may mobilize civilian reservists to make a bigger effort to finally win. Perhaps the war will go on. But could Putin’s fate be the measure of what the main front in the war is about?

Head on over to Substack for the essay. I decided to publish this series there. But you can always get the link here on TDR.

NOTE: ISW updates continue here.

NOTE: Also, I put war-related links and commentary in the Weekend Data Dump on Substack. You may read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved.

Weekend Data Dump

The Weekend Data Dump is a compilation of short entries about the previous week’s defense and national security news that I found interesting. I couldn’t possibly comment on everything in my news flow or delve into everything that interests me. So most news that interests me doesn’t make the cut for a post. The rest go in the data dump. Enjoy!

HOP ON OVER AND READ IT! On the bright side, you can comment on Substack!

In case you missed it on Substack: China's Indirect "Chain of Justice" War to Capture Taiwan

In case you missed it on Substack: Zumwalt Goes to War

In case you missed it on Substack: Extended Nuclear Deterrence

In case you missed it on Substack: Combined Arms Remains Supreme

Help me out by subscribing on Substack and by liking and sharing posts. I occasionally post short data dump-type items (or not-so-short) on my Substack "Notes" section.

Hiding in Plain Sight

Ukraine has designed aerial suicide drones that mimic flocks of birds to penetrate Russian air defenses. Did I call it, or what?

Well, mimicking birds on radar: 

The latest Ukrainian innovation is mechanical birds capable of destroying ground targets. Ukrainian engineers designed, developed, and fabricated a swarm of biomimetic drones that resemble a flock of migrating birds.

Man, I was all over this method a decade ago when discussing infantry ("slugs") on the future battlefield I described:

Anybody on the battlefield, whether Scouts or Slugs (especially), called being outside of a protected space “on top of the world.” Normally you had to dig underground while unobserved and not move (or emit) a muscle thereafter; move low and slow like random animal life; sit still in the open for no more than 3 minutes; or be encased in heavy armor, active defenses, and stealthiness to avoid being a bright strobing target pip on every Hostile’s screen. [emphasis added]

And here we are in 2026 with weapons mimicking wild life.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: I made the image with Bing.

Is a Gold-Plated Aerial Drone the Way to Go?

If you send armed drone tiltrotors into battle, aren't armed helicopters controlling them a needless middle man? Heck, isn't the expensive drone tiltrotor an overly expensive means of delivering fire support?

Huh: 

Anduril announced plans to make an autonomous attack tiltrotor that the company hopes the U.S. Army will pair with its helicopters for future missions. 

Nicknamed Thunder, the vertical-takeoff-and-landing rotorcraft is to be autonomous, heavily armed, hybrid-electric powered, and roughly group five-sized. It’s being designed to “be packed into a standard shipping container” for easy transport ...

Company officials say multiple uncrewed tiltrotors could accompany each crewed helicopter on a mission.

Why not cut out the manned helicopter middle man? 

And honestly, do we need the drone tiltrotor for fire support?

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Anduril image from the article.

Survive With Dull Routine

Yes, we need active and passive point defense measures to protect our forces from cheap aerial drones. But don't get fixated on meeting new technology with even better technology. Dig in and hide, too. 

Preaching to the TDR choir, he is, about protecting ground forces against aerial drones:

Guns, missiles, electronic warfare, lasers, and interceptor drones matter, but they will not be everywhere, at every echelon, all the time. Passive defense—netting, hardening, overhead cover, concealment, deception, dispersion, and disciplined displacement—has to become normal.

You must deploy passive and active defenses and measures whenever you are in the No-Man's Land and especially when you stop. Or where you can't move at all, of course. Romans dug in every day on the march. That ancient wisdom has not become obsolete because we have new technology.

NOTE: TDR Winter War of 2022 coverage continues here. 

NOTE: You may also like to read my posts on Substack, at The Dignified Rant: Evolved. Go ahead and subscribe to it. It's the right thing to do!

NOTE: Image from the article.