Unpicking The Electromagnetic Tapestry

The Latin Phrase 'Scientia Potentia Est' (Knowledge Is Power) Encompasses the Naval Need to Classify and Process Electromagnetic Signatures in an Area of Operations.

- Thomas Withington

As 2018 was drawing to a close a diplomatic rumpus erupted that, as of the time of writing (February 2018), still simmers. The matter involves a Republic of Korea Navy (ROKN) ‘Gwanggaeto the Great’ class destroyer and a Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) Kawasaki P-1 maritime patrol aircraft. The incident occurred in international waters in the east of the Sea of Japan, off the Noto Peninsula on Japan’s Honshu island. These are arguably the only two elements of the incident not in contention.

Japan’s Ministry of Defence (MOD) claims that its aircraft was illuminated on several occasions by a Thales STIR 180 X-band (8.5 gigahertz/GHz to 10.68GHz) / K-band (24.05GHz to 24.25GHz) fire control radar onboard the ROKN warship. Japan’s government has claimed that the ROKN’s actions violated the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea (CUES), something which is disputed by Seoul. The CUES comprises 21 signatories and aims to reduce the chances of hostile incidents occurring between the signatories, and to prevent them escalating if they do, although the agreement is not legally binding. Seoul has disputed Tokyo’s claims by arguing that the P-1 was repeatedly over-flying the ship at a low altitude of 500 feet (150 metres) while the destroyer assisted the rescue of a Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fishing boat experiencing difficulties. Citing the CUES, Seoul claimed that the P-1’s actions violated this agreement. Seoul has also denied that the warship employed the STIR-180, instead claiming that the ship’s Thales MW-08 C-band (5.25GHz to 5.925GHz) naval surveillance radar was being used to assist the rescue.

Radar Lock