China's Electronic War Plane Made To Dominate South China Sea

In December 2023, a significant encounter between a US EA-18 Growler and China's Type 055 cruiser, Nanchang, highlighted this shift. The US Navy dismissed William Coulter, commander of the Electronic Attack Squadron 136, citing a loss of confidence following the incident.

Chinese media reported that AI-enhanced radar on the Nanchang outperformed the EA-18G's jamming capabilities, forming a“kill web” to counter US attacks.

This development follows China's swift improvements in EW after failing to track a US aircraft during US politician Nancy Pelosi's 2022 Taiwan visit. China's new EW systems can detect, decode and suppress enemy signals, integrating AI and advanced signal processing.

These advancements complement China's expanding EW network in the South China Sea, where it is being systematically arrayed to undermine US operational capabilities.

In an August 2020 report for the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, J Michael Dahm mentions that China has developed a robust and sophisticated EW infrastructure in the South China Sea, leveraging its island-reef outposts to project significant regional power.

Dahm says the People's Liberation Army (PLA) has established multiple EW systems on these artificial islands, particularly on Mischief Reef, Subi Reef and Fiery Cross Reef.

He mentions that these systems include mobile ground-based EW units capable of jamming enemy communications and radar and sophisticated signals intelligence (SIGINT) facilities designed to intercept and geolocate satellite communications.

Dahm notes that China's strategic placement of these EW capabilities allows It to maintain electromagnetic dominance, which would be crucial for controlling information in any conflict scenario in the South China Sea.

Further, Ian Williams and Masao Dahlgren mention in an October 2019 brief for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank that China's EW capabilities in the South China Sea are designed to disrupt US military operations by targeting the US kill chain, which integrates intelligence, command and fire control data for precision-guided weapons.

China's EW systems in the South China Sea, coupled with its counter-space capabilities , could render ineffective US missiles deployed in the Philippines, similar to how Russia has jammed Western-supplied precision-guided munitions in the ongoing Ukraine war.

Such an approach could blunt any strategic advantage of US missiles in the Philippines while avoiding an“armed attack” that could trigger the 1951 US-Philippines Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT).

In a May 2024 Military Watch Magazine article , A B Abrams says that the US deployment of the Typhon Mid-Range Capability (MRC) system in the Philippines marks a significant shift in US military strategy in the Western Pacific.

Abrams notes that the MRC system, equipped with the 370-kilometer-range SM-6 missile and the 1,600-kilometer-range Tomahawk land attack cruise missile (LACM), can target key locations on China's East Coast, including Nanjing, Shanghai and Wuhan.

He says that this US move is a countermeasure to the PLA's extensive missile capabilities, including over 2,200 conventionally armed ballistic and cruise missiles. He says the deployment aims to“equalize” the missile threat posed by China to US forces in the region.

Abrams highlights the strategic implications of the deployment, noting that it allows the US to launch medium-range missiles against China without needing intercontinental-range missiles, thus closing the Pacific Ocean gap.

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China's strategic deployment of EW systems in the South China Sea to nullify the strategic cover of US missiles in the Philippines demonstrates its push to disrupt potential adversary operations across all domains and attain information dominance.

In an April 2023 monograph for the US Army War College, Roger Cliff mentions that China's EW capabilities are integral to its broader military strategy. Cliff says these capabilities aim to dominate the electromagnetic spectrum and disable adversaries' systems.

He notes that the PLA has prioritized developing sophisticated EW tools to disrupt, deceive or destroy enemy communications, radar and other electronic systems. He says these capabilities are part of a broader strategy emphasizing“informatized” warfare, where control of information and the electromagnetic spectrum is critical to success.

According to Cliff, China's EW units are tasked with offensive and defensive operations, including jamming, cyberattacks and protecting electronic systems.

He points out that China's EW strategy is deeply integrated into its joint operations, providing support across all military domains-land, sea, air, space and cyber.

He says this approach underscores China's commitment to achieving information dominance in any conflict, reflecting its broader military modernization goals focused on technological superiority and the ability to conduct complex, integrated operations against advanced adversaries.

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