The evolving battlefield: How radar technology is advancing in the age of advanced electronic warfare and C-UAS
StoryFebruary 12, 2025
Nate Knight
Anduril Industries
The contemporary military landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, driven by rapid advancements in electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and the proliferation of uncrewed aerial systems (UASs). This evolution is posing serious challenges to conventional radar systems, as traditional radar solutions struggle to keep pace with emerging threats and tactical requirements. No longer can military forces rely solely on large, centralized radar installations: The battlefield of tomorrow demands a paradigm shift in both radar technology and deployment strategies.
To ensure that warfighters have the necessary tools to maintain superiority in the ever-evolving electronic battlefield, substantial innovation in radar technology is imperative. Now facing the industry: The questions of how radar technology is advancing to meet new demands, and what the implications are for future development and research in this critical field of defense technology.
Electronic warfare and UAS threats in modern warfare
The rapid progress of electronic warfare (EW) capabilities and evolving threats from uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) mean a fundamentally altered nature of modern conflict. The electronic battlefield is becoming increasingly complex as adversaries develop sophisticated methods to disrupt radar systems. Modern jammers now generate highly targeted and adaptive interference, while advanced spoofing techniques create false radar returns. The integration of radar systems into broader networks has also opened new avenues for cyber-based attacks. Additionally, artificial intelligence (AI)-driven EW systems enable real-time adaptation to counter specific radar configurations, necessitating a new generation of robust, networked, and resilient radar systems.
Simultaneously, the proliferation of small UASs has introduced a new dimension to modern warfare. These widely available and increasingly sophisticated platforms serve multiple purposes, from reconnaissance to weapon delivery systems or even as sacrificial or expendable jammers. Their small size and exceptional maneuverability make them elusive targets for traditional radar systems. Further, the ability to deploy large numbers of small UAS in coordinated swarms overwhelms traditional tracking and engagement systems. This threat landscape demands radar systems capable of detecting, tracking, and classifying multiple small, agile targets in complex environments while maintaining the ability to manage traditional threats.
As the battlefield continues to evolve, future radar technologies must become adaptable, resilient, and capable of addressing these threats simultaneously.
Shift from centralized to decentralized radar systems
The vulnerabilities of centralized radar installations against these emerging threats have created the need for a shift toward distributed, low-size, weight, and power (SWaP) radar networks. These smaller, more cost-effective radar systems are capable of operating within a larger, decentralized network, offering enhanced resilience against attacks or failures, as the loss of individual nodes doesn’t compromise the entire network. Additionally, a distributed architecture provides more comprehensive coverage, particularly in complex terrain or urban environments, making them better suited to address modern warfare challenges.
For maneuver formations, the prevalence of small UASs and other asymmetric threats has necessitated the development of defensive capabilities at the individual vehicle level. Equipping vehicles within a formation with their own radar systems enhances operational flexibility and vastly improves the survivability in contested environments. By adopting this distributed model, military forces can better adapt to the evolving nature of electronic warfare and maintain operational effectiveness in the face of emerging threats.
Technological advancements in radar
These advancements in radar technology are fundamental to developing radar systems capable of meeting the challenges posed by modern EW and small UAS threats.
1. High-data-rate samplers
High-data-rate samplers enable radar systems to capture and process vast amounts of information with unprecedented speed and precision. High-speed sampling enables much finer resolution in both range and Doppler domains, crucial for detecting and tracking small, fast-moving targets. It also supports wider bandwidth operations, which means that radars can gather more information about targets and their environments and leverage more sophisticated signal processing techniques, which enhance a radar’s ability to distinguish targets from clutter and interference. These advancements are particularly valuable in complex environments such as cluttered urban battlefields and multithreat scenarios, where it is critical to distinguish small UAS from background noise or from each other.
2. COTS beamforming capabilities
The availability of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) beamforming capabilities is accelerating innovation in defense, enabling the development of more agile and adaptable radar systems. Leveraging commercial technology for military applications not only reduces time to deployment but also decreases development costs and fuels continuous improvements. Modern commercial beamforming technologies enhance radar performance by offering improved spatial resolution, interference rejection, and multitarget tracking capabilities. In addition, commercial beamforming solutions often offer scalable architectures and flexible system designs to meet various operational requirements.
3. Software-defined radar
As radar hardware becomes more digital, more functionality is moving from hardware to software, creating systems that are more flexible and can be quickly updated. Software-defined radars can be rapidly reconfigured or updated to address new threats or operational requirements without hardware changes. Additionally, a single software-defined radar can perform multiple functions (e.g., search, track) by switching between different software-defined operational modes. (Figure 1.)
[Figure 1 ǀ Pulsar is a family of software-defined electromagnetic warfare (EW) systems that leverage AI at the edge to rapidly adapt to emerging threats. Anduril image.]
4. AI and ML integration
The integration of AI and ML into radar systems is enhancing the ability of these systems to distinguish between threats and non-threats, and to adapt to new electronic warfare tactics in real time. AI algorithms can automate the classification and identification of targets, considerably reducing the cognitive load on human operators. Moreover, ML techniques enable radars to dynamically optimize their waveforms based on the current electromagnetic environment and mission requirements. Further, AI-driven radar systems can identify and mitigate various forms of interference and jamming in real time, enhancing sensing performance in contested environments.
5. Smaller and more cost-effective
Advancements in component technology are enabling the development of compact radar systems, while new materials and manufacturing techniques are facilitating the production of smaller, lighter antenna arrays and other radar components. Moreover, the use of highly integrated, multifunction RF and digital circuits is reducing the size, weight, and power (SWaP) consumption of radar systems. Developing smaller, more power-efficient radar systems without sacrificing performance is crucial for widespread deployment across military vehicles and platforms.
Outlook: The new generation of radar systems
The ongoing evolution of radar technology is a critical component in maintaining military superiority in the increasingly complex electronic battlefield of the future. The move toward decentralized, networked radar systems – coupled with advancements in high-data-rate sampling, software-defined architectures, and AI integration – will usher in a new generation of radar. These advanced platforms will see enhanced resolution and target detection, heightened adaptability, and rapid reconfiguration. AI/ML will enable automated target classification, dynamic optimization of waveforms, and real-time adaptation to EW tactics.
The result: A new generation of radar systems that are smaller, cheaper, and much more quickly developed than ever before – enabling the widespread deployment of decentralized sensing capabilities across military vehicles and platforms. This agility in development and deployment will be crucial to staying ahead of the evolving threat landscape. These distributed, networked systems will be deployed across multiple platforms, including individual vehicles, thereby enhancing operational flexibility and survivability in contested environments.
Ultimately, the radar of the future will be a highly adaptable, resilient, and intelligent system capable of ensuring that military forces can adapt quickly to emerging threats.
Going forward with radar
The importance of continued innovation in defense capabilities cannot be overstated. As adversaries continue to develop new methods of EW and deploy increasingly sophisticated unmanned systems, the ability to detect, track, and engage these threats will be crucial. The future of radar lies not just in powerful hardware, but in intelligent, adaptive systems that can outsmart and outmaneuver advanced tactics and elusive UAS threats. By embracing these advances and continuing to push the boundaries of what is possible in radar technology, the industry can ensure that warfighters have the tools they need to operate effectively in the complex, contested battlefield environment.
Nate Knight is Head of Air and Missile Defense at Anduril Industries. Prior to joining Anduril, Nate served as vice president of Air and Missile Defense at Numerica Corporation. At Numerica, Nate led the company’s air defense division as well as several internal technology initiatives. His team provided innovative software technology to major U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs including U.S. Army Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) and U.S. Air Force Cloud-Based Command and Control (CBC2) Fusion. Nate has a doctorate in computer science from Colorado State University, having completed research in the area of robust reinforcement learning for non-linear control systems.
Anduril Industries https://www.anduril.com/
