Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) is a part of electronic warfare which includes a variety

of practices which attempt to reduce or eliminate the effect of electronic countermeasures (ECM) on
electronic sensors aboard vehicles, ships and aircraft and weapons such as missiles. ECCM is also
known as electronic protective measures (EPM), chiefly in Europe. In practice, EPM often means
resistance to jamming.

ECCM Techniques

A radar engineer is usually trained in electronic circuitry. It is only natural, therefore, to think of
ECCM techniques in terms of electronic circuitry. There are two categories of ECCM, electronic and
operational. The former includes things inside the radar, while the latter includes how the radar is
used. These two categories must be used in combination.

Electronic ECCM Types

There were approximately 150 ECCM types. These ECCM types can be divided into four subgroups:
those in the transmitter, those in the antenna, those in the receiver-signal processor, and those in
the "system." This division is in accord with the usual breakdown of a radar. Some ECCM techniques,
e.g., monopluse, have effects in more than one part of a radar; other ECCM techniques, e.g., radar
frequency, could be considered as part of several different electronic ECCM subgroups. Groupings
used herein are those selected by the author for various reasons. No particular significance should
be attached.

A. ECCM in the Transmitter

This subgroup may be further subdivided into those conceming the radar frequency, power,
waveform, and pulse repetition (actually part of the waveform). ECCMs in the transmitter are listed
in Table I.
B. ECCM in the Antenna

This subgroup also may be further subdivided into those concerning main-lobe pattern
characteristics, sidelobe characteristics, and angular measurement techniques. ECCMs in the
antenna are listed in Table II. Sidelobe cancellation in Table I has evolved from a very simple
technique into a very sophisticated technology with the application of adaptive processing.
C. ECCMs in the Receiver-Signal Processor

This subgroup is the most numerous of all the subgroups; in fact, it is larger than all the other
subgroups combined. This popularity arises from several factors.

1.It is generally easier and cheaper to make changes to a fielded radar in the receiver than in the
antenna or the transmitter. A receiver ECCM may be a handful of transistors while raising radar peak
power output may be very costly.

2. Receiver ECCMs are passive, i.e., their presence is not disclosed to an enemy.

3. Recent advances in signal processing, especially use of digital techniques, have permitted great
improvements in radar receivers.

4. Receiver ECCMs are generally more versatile.

5. Receiver ECCMs are more amenable to operator adjustment for maximum effectiveness than
those in the antenna or transmitter.

6. There are many varieties of some ECCMs, e.g., MTI, CFAR, and Dicke-Fix. Receiver ECCMs also may
be further subdivided into predetection, detection, postdetection, PRF considerations, and displays.
These are given in Table III.
As general considerations, the receiver linearity and dynamic range should be maximized. Receiver
desensitization should be avoided. The importance of digital signal processing, e.g., fast Fourier
transform (FFT) techniques , is noteworthy. Cartledge and O'Donnell further treated advanced signal
processing technique which are meaningful in an ECCM role. They used automatic adaptive
thresholding and fully coherent processing as a digital replacement for the Dicke Fix. D. ECCM in the
System ECCM in the system includes both radar data manipulation and analysis and the use of target
data from other sources.

These are listed in Table IV. The first subgroup was made possible by recent advances in digital
technology. Laser radars were covered both in the U.S. and U.S.S.R.. The second subgroup is outside
the radar, but data from those sources may greatly add to the usefulness of a radar in an EW
environment.

Some Specific ECCM techniques

The following are some examples of EPM (other than simply increasing the fidelity of sensors
through techniques such as increasing power or improving discrimination):

1. Pulse compression by "chirping", or linear frequency modulation

One of the effects of the pulse compression technique is boosting the apparent signal strength as
perceived by the radar receiver. The outgoing radar pulses are chirped, that is, the frequency of the
carrier is varied within the pulse, much like the sound of a cricket chirping. When the pulse reflects
off a target and returns to the receiver, the signal is processed to add a delay as a function of the
frequency. This has the effect of "stacking" the pulse so it seems stronger, but shorter in duration, to
further processors. The effect can increase the received signal strength to above that of noise
jamming. Similarly, jamming pulses (used in deception jamming) will not typically have the same
chirp, so will not benefit from the increase in signal strength.

2. Frequency hopping

Frequency agility ("frequency hopping") may be used to rapidly switch the frequency of the
transmitted energy, and receiving only that frequency during the receiving time window. This foils
jammers which cannot detect this switch in frequency quickly enough or predict the next hop
frequency, and switch their own jamming frequency accordingly during the receiving time window.
The most advanced jamming techniques have a very wide and fast frequency range, and might
possibly jam out an antijammer.[1]

This method is also useful against barrage jamming in that it forces the jammer to spread its
jamming power across multiple frequencies in the jammed system's frequency range, reducing its
power in the actual frequency used by the equipment at any one time. The use of spread-spectrum
techniques allow signals to be spread over a wide enough spectrum to make jamming of such a
wideband signal difficult.
 3. Sidelobe blanking

Radar jamming can be effective from directions other than the direction the radar antenna is
currently aimed. When jamming is strong enough, the radar receiver can detect it from a relatively
low gain sidelobe. The radar, however, will process signals as if they were received in the main lobe.
Therefore, jamming can be seen in directions other than where the jammer is located. To combat
this, an omnidirectional antenna is used for a comparison signal. By comparing the signal strength as
received by both the omnidirectional and the (directional) main antenna, signals can be identified
that are not from the direction of interest. These signals are then ignored.

4. Polarization

Polarization can be used to filter out unwanted signals, such as jamming. If a jammer and receiver do
not have the same polarization, the jamming signal will incur a loss that reduces its effectiveness.
The four basic polarizations are linear horizontal, linear vertical, right-hand circular, and left-hand
circular. The signal loss inherent in a cross polarized (transmitter different from receiver) pair is 3 dB
for dissimilar types, and 17 dB for opposites.

Aside from power loss to the jammer, radar receivers can also benefit from using two or more
antennas of differing polarization and comparing the signals received on each. This effect can
effectively eliminate all jamming of the wrong polarization, although enough jamming may still
obscure the actual signal.