Security experts yesterday urged the military to retain frequency hopping as a required feature paired with other technologies for next-generation radios to increase counter-electronic warfare capabilities and interoperability with US forces.
In a solicitation that has since been withdrawn, the army included frequency shift keying as an acceptable feature in new radios, retired air force colonel Chou Yu-ping (周宇平) said at an event cohosted by the Strategy and Public Research Institute of Taiwan.
Procuring frequency-shifting radios would represent a 30-year step backward, while frequency hopping equipment is standard for Taiwanese and US armed forces, said Chou, a researcher at the institute.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The army’s attempt to switch back to frequency-shift technology would degrade its survivability and interoperability, Chou said.
The Ministry of National Defense must ensure that procurements would upgrade existing technologies, instead of downgrading equipment, he said.
Taiwan National Security Institute deputy secretary-general Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said the integration of frequency-hopping encryption and a military mobile ad hoc network is essential for the armed forces’ ability to withstand damage and meet future joint warfare requirements.
Frequency-shifting radio users have extremely low survivability in the intense electronic warfare environment expected in modern warfare, he said.
Real-world combat experience and technological trends suggest that a force must use a dispersed communications network to avoid single-point failures in its command structure, Ho said.
Achieving the national strategic goal of obtaining asymmetric warfare capabilities means being able to share a common operational picture across branches, Taiwan Industrial Technology Association vice chairman Lin Chien-cheng (林健正) said.
Frequency-hopping equipment is standard in the US and adopting frequency shift technology would hinder interoperability, he said.
The government should consider buying strategic-level communication systems from the US and rely on the domestic tech industry to furnish tactical-level devices to expedite force building, he said.
The annual Han Kuang military exercises should incorporate real jamming to test the combat forces’ ability to operate in a contested electronic warfare environment, Lin said.
Public discourse surrounding Washington’s political will to send troops to defend Taiwan misses the matter of what the US forces could do and how they would do it, said Jing Yuan-chou (荊元宙), associate professor at Tamkang University’s College of International Affairs.
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army would surely utilize electronic warfare capabilities against Taiwan in an attempt to overwhelm the defenders’ command structure, and utilization of frequency-shifting radios would invite failure, he said.
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