Publications

Information and Research that Informs and Connects the DE Community

Radio Frequency Directed Energy Systems and their Effects

John T. Tatum
Paperback
143 Pages
2024, Directed Energy Professional Society

Directed Energy (DE) systems can engage targets positioned on land and sea surfaces, as well as in air and space, typically operating at frequencies outside of human eye detection and therefore unseen by an adversary. Radio Frequency (RF) energy target entry can occur via intentional antennas (front doors) and by targeting unintentional ports of entry (back doors).

This book addresses major subsystems in an RF DE system and discusses the advantages and disadvantages of RF DE systems compared to conventional kinetic energy systems. Topics explored include:

  • Atmospheric effects of absorption and scattering
  • Basic RF modeling and simulation tools
  • Methodology to determine power requirements for an RF DE system and for computing the hardening and protection requirements for an electronic target
  • Mathematical formulas for estimating the effective areas of typical RF DE ports of entry, e.g. aperture, dipoles, and wire antennas

About the Author

John T. Tatum is an electronic systems engineer with the SURVICE Engineering Company and a subject-matter expert in electronic warfare (EW) and high radio frequency/microwave directed energy systems (RF/M DE systems). Before joining SURVICE, he worked for almost 37 years for the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL; formerly Harry Diamond Laboratories in Adelphi, Maryland), in the Electronics Division, where he learned about radar/EW and electromagnetic energy and its effects. Mr. Tatum became a team leader in the RF/M DE Effects branch, where he directed and participated in EM/RF/M effects investigations on military systems and supporting infrastructure. Mr. Tatum used the effects data to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of RF/M DE concepts for various Army applications. He also served as the Army chairperson of the RF/M DE JMEM Working Group and chaired the RF/M DE Effects Panel for the Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Technology Panel on DE systems. Mr. Tatum is a fellow of the Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS), a member of the Association of Old Crows Electronic Warfare Society and the Institute of Electrical/Electronic Engineers (IEEE). Mr. Tatum holds a Bachelor of Science in Electrical/Engineering (B.S.E.E.) from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD, where he became a member of the Eta Kappa Nu Electrical Engineering honor society. He also has completed graduate courses in communications and radar at the University of Maryland and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU-APL). In his free time, Mr. Tatum volunteers as a STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) teacher for Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland, where he teaches Electricity Fundamentals, Electrical/Electronic Engineering Careers, and EM Waves and Applications, such as RF/M DE propagation, radio communications, radar, and electronic warfare

  • Acknowledgments
  • Preface
  • List of Figures
  • Chapter 1. Introduction: Radio Frequency/Microwave (RF/M) Directed Energy (DE) Systems and Their Applications
    • 1.1. Nonkinetic energy systems (NKESs): electromagnetic systems/DE systems
    • 1.2. What are high-power RF/M DE systems?
      • 1.2.1. Electromagnetic spectrum and RF/M DE system frequencies
      • 1.2.2. Major components of an RF/M DE system
    • 1.3. How RF/M DE systems are like traditional EA jammers and nuclear-created EM pulse (NEMP)
      • 1.3.1. RF/M DE vs traditional EA
      • 1.3.2. RF/M DE vs EMP
      • 1.3.3. Potential applications of RF/M DE systems
  • Chapter 2. Capabilities and Limitations
  • Chapter 3. RF/M DE Coupling to Target and Effects
    • 3.1. Typical unconventional EA attack scenario with RF/M DE
    • 3.2. RF/M DE propagation in atmosphere
      • 3.2.1. Atmospheric structure
      • 3.2.2. Atmospheric effects
      • 3.2.3. Summary
    • 3.3. RF/M de coupling paths to target electronics: intentional (front-door) and unintentional (back-door) ports of entry (POEs)
    • 3.4. Estimated target effect/failure level
    • 3.5. Probability of target failure
    • 3.6. RF/M DE effects on electronic components
      • 3.6.1. Component upset and damage
  • Chapter 4. RF/M DE Effects on Electronic Systems
    • 4.1. DoD RF/M DE effects assessment methodology
    • 4.2. Free-field effects test vs direct injection effects test on systems
  • Chapter 5. RF/M DE Modeling and Simulation
    • 5.1. RF/M DE models/tools
    • 5.2. Engagement models and simulations
      • 5.2.1. Directed Radio Frequency Energy Assessment Model (DREAM)
      • 5.2.2. Radio Frequency Propagation and Target Effects Code (RFPROTEC)
      • 5.2.3. Joint RF/M Effectiveness Model (JREM)
  • Chapter 6. RF/M DE System Development: RF/M DE Lethality
    • 6.1. RF/M DE system development methodology
    • 6.2. Notional RF/M DE system design example using the Radio Frequency Directed Energy System Design Tool (RFDEDT)
  • Chapter 7. RF/M DE Protection/Hardening—Survivability
    • 7.1. RF/M DE protection methodology and hardening margins
    • 7.2. RF/M DE hardening example
      • 7.2.1. RF/M DE threat environment
      • 7.2.2. System functional analysis
      • 7.2.3. Failure analysis logic tree
      • 7.2.4. Entry path characterization
      • 7.2.5. Probability of failure (damage) vs. incident power density and RF/M DE threat range
      • 7.2.6. Hardening requirements for example helicopter
  • Chapter 8. Summary
  • Appendix A. Radio Frequency Directed Energy System Design Tool (RFDEDT) Methodology and Models
  • Appendix B. Examples of RF/M DE Systems
  • Appendix C. Port of Entry Effective Areas and Component Failure Models in DREAM
  • Appendix D. Effective Area Formulas for POE (Antennas)
  • Appendix E. Effective Area Formulas for Back-Door POEs
  • Appendix F. Transmission Lines
  • Appendix G. Shielding Materials Attenuation
  • Appendix H. RF/M Bands (Radar Community)
  • Appendix I. Glossary
  • Appendix J. Acronyms
  • Index.

This Directed Energy Professional Society (DEPS)-sponsored book effort started out with a focus on radio frequency/microwave directed energy weapons (DEWs). In fact, the author’s original working title for the book was Unconventional Electronic Attack (UEA): High Power Radio Frequency/Microwave Directed Energy Weapons. It was quickly realized, however, that this emphasis on DEW systems would only limit DEPS’s ability to provide the author’s unique understanding of high-power radio frequency/high-power microwave (HPRF/HPM) DE systems to the broader non-DoD (Department of Defense) audience. DEPS was founded to foster the research, development, and operational transition of DE technologies for both national defense and civil applications through professional communication, education, and outreach. Thus, a less defense-focused title and a fuller spectrum range of applications were developed for the book.

The present title, Radio Frequency Directed Energy Systems and Their Effects, and broader scope of the book permit the author’s knowledge of high-powered microwave energy to be more readily utilized for other radio frequency/microwave (RF/M) DE systems applications such as power beaming, improved radar, and other RF systems for remote sensing of the Earth’s environment and beyond. Optimized antenna array concepts, high-power beam-steering techniques, and distributed beam-forming approaches developed for HPM DEW systems can and should be exploited in civilian industry to further capitalize on DoD research and development.

In summary, this book speaks more broadly to RF/M propagation and target interaction than just DE weapons. To that end, the text is careful to generally specify the systems addressed as “RF/M DE systems” rather than as HPM DEW systems. The acronym HPM as a specific form of RF/M DE system is frequently noted herein, but the term “weapon system” is understandably avoided.