Disruptor SRx

Exelis announced a new family of Electronic Warfare systems expected to offer better detection and jamming capabilities against emerging RF threats. It's been dubbed Disruptor SRx, and is described as a "cognitive EW" system.

What makes Disruptor both unique, and amazing, is that it's described as being able to detect, and react to previously unrecorded threats in real time. Usually it takes several exposures to a new system to develop a working jamming system against it, and time. With Disruptor, the digital receiver, DRFM, and digital signal processor are located in a single module. It has the standard threat library recorded, as well as the ability to detect, analyze, and jam unknown signals using high speed processing and machine learning.

They will be delivered programmed to cover certain bands, from the NATO A/B, to millimeter wave, which is used seekers.

Exelis is launching a new family of electronic warfare (EW) systems that it expects to offer better detection and jamming capability against emerging, more flexible radio-frequency (RF) threats.

Dubbed Disruptor SRx, the new products use "cognitive EW" technology, and are claimed to be able to respond in real time to previously unrecorded waveforms or operating modes. It is aimed at applications ranging from unmanned air vehicles to combat aircraft, has potential land and sea uses, and – according to Exelis – will work within a "system of systems" approach rather than being based on a single processor.

Disruptor SRx takes advantage of modern microprocessor and RF circuitry design to fit a digital receiver, digital radio-frequency memory (DRFM) and a digital signal processor in a single module. The module has a standalone capability to both identify signals against a threat library (as traditional systems do) and classify unknown signals and generate jamming signals if necessary, using high-speed processing and "machine learning" to respond on the fly.

aviationweek.com...

I just wanted to flag so that I could read later. What platform would this be utilized on?

a reply to: jeenyus2008

It won't be platform specific, so it could be carried on anything from UAVs, to ships, and everything in between.

That is impressive as heck. A system able to learn to recognize and counter yet unknown threats and be compact enough to fit into spaces on existing platforms.

Do you think it is really in the prototype stage as Exelis states, or might be actually flow on something already? Seams like the quit a bit of tech is usually well beyond the stage the press release indicates for obvious security reasons.

a reply to: Sammamishman

I wouldn't be surprised if it's already seen flight on some platforms, and is farther than they say.

If you've got the processing power for that, now all you need to do is broadcast 180 degrees out of phase...

a reply to: Zaphod58

Just remember, the ability to jam detectable threats is still limited to the available frequencies that the system can use.

It is a good thing you were sitting down not being very surprised.

a reply to: 5GenNext

Oh, there's still a ways to go for the ultimate jamming system, but being able to detect and jam previously unknown threats in real time is an incredible advantage.

a reply to: Zaphod58

Yeah. Technology has been crazy and is getting better and more advanced basically daily.

a reply to: 5GenNext

It's fun watching it change, and it does seem like it's changing faster in recent years than it did before. It'll be interesting to see what comes out tomorrow.

The most important question of all.

Will it function equally well against BOTH fixed and mobile speed radar's and cameras?

(??) We used to call that an adaptive jammer.

The basic method's been out a few years...I think I even posted on it a couple of years ago.

Basically, you have a very agile front end with a big husky SDR setup that's binning out any nearby emission for characteristics and frequencies, then you bust the transmissions with a really agile back end that you can use to stomp on the outgoing signal.

In one guise, it's how you break frequency agile transmissions like an old SINCGARS type frequency hopper, you just bin out the spectrum over a huge swath and look for bins that have about the same amplitude, and Bob's your uncle. In another, it's how this thing works.

You look at everything, then when a signal from your target pops up, you stomp on it. Like radio whack-a-mole.