• Military
• WMD

• Intelligence Menu               

• Systems
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Imagery
• Links

• Homeland Security
• Space

Special Electronic Mission Aircraft

Army aviation's special electronic mission aircraft (SEMA) perform surveillance at both the operational and tactical levels of war. SEMA use the electromagnetic spectrum to locate, and target, enemy units and facilities; intercept enemy communications; disrupt enemy C4I; and target acquisition capabilities. SEMA are organic to corps and divisions. They receive their mission taskings from the G2, not the aviation commander. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) may be assigned to aviation units but may also get their mission taskings from an external source. For both operational and safety reasons, both manned and unmanned aerial SEMA platforms must operate within the A2C2 system.

Reconnaissance operations obtain information by visual observation or other detection methods. This information may concern the activities and resources of an enemy or potential threat, or the meteorological, hydrographic characteristics of a particular area. Reconnaissance assets must possess the ability to develop the situation, process the information, and provide it to commanders in near real time. Army aviation's most modern assets, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior and the AH-64 Apache, give the force commander a dramatically improved 24-hour air reconnaissance capability that can better develop the situation and rapidly send information to wherever it is most needed. No longer is the primary mission of attack helicopter assets within cavalry units to protect the scouts.

Air reconnaissance complements and extends the zone covered by ground reconnaissance. Successful aerial reconnaissance obtains information useful in effectively directing ground reconnaissance units. Under favorable conditions, aviation furnishes early information concerning the enemy's general disposition and movements to considerable depth beyond the forward edge of the battle area (FEBA).

Army aviation not only participates in the traditional missions of route, area, and zone reconnaissance, it also significantly contributes to reconnaissance-in-force. Reconnaissance-in-force is always conducted by a large enough force to place the enemy at some risk while providing self-protection. It can be conducted by an aviation-pure force or in conjunction with ground forces. Its primary purpose is to gain information and test the enemy's strength, disposition, and reaction. It is used when the enemy is known to be operating in some strength in a given area but sufficient intelligence cannot be developed by other means.

Electronic warfare (EW) is an essential component of C2 warfare (C2W). As part of C2W, EW is used in conjunction with multidisciplined counterintelligence to protect friendly C2 while attacking the enemy's C2 structure. Effective use of EW--as a decisive element of combat power--requires coordination and integration of EW operations with the commander's scheme of maneuver and fire support plan. The integrated use of EW throughout the battlefield supports the synergy needed to locate, identify, damage, and destroy enemy forces and their structure.