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SIGINT - Signals Intelligence

China evidently has an extensive and sophisticated Signals intelligence (SIGINT) capability (one estimate from 2018 was that Beijing was spending a tenth of China’s military budget on SIGINT) and is reportedly heavily dependent on these systems for tracking American ships.

The Technical Department provides the PRC with a wide range of SIGINT capabilities. The Chinese maintain, by far, the most extensive SIGINT capability of any nation in the Asia/Pacific region. The Chinese operate several dozen SIGINT ground stations deployed throughout China. They monitor signals from Russia, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, India, and Southeast Asia. Signals from U.S. military units located in the region are of significant interest to these monitoring stations. A large SIGINT facility at Hainan Island is principally concerned with monitoring U.S. naval activities in the South China Sea.

The Chinese actively monitor international communications satellites from SATCOM intercept facilities on Hainan Island, and outside Beijing. Additionally, the Chinese have developed a series of SIGINT collection vessels that monitor U.S. military operations and exercises in the Asia/Pacific region.

PLA deep reconnaissance operations consist of a mix of long-range persistent aerial and ground sensors using a variety of manned and unmanned systems, long-endurance SOF and similar light infantry units, and space-based systems. A significant proportion of deep reconnaissance assets are housed in the theater command’s reconnaissance and intelligence brigade, while others are national-level assets.

Some deep reconnaissance operations are focused on supporting national- and strategic-level assets, while some play an important role in support of tactical operations. Deep reconnaissance capabilities in support of the latter provide targeting for long-range fires, supply commanders with signals intelligence (SIGINT), and collect on the morale, disposition, and cohesion of large enemy formations.

Deep reconnaissance assets are deployed using a combined arms approach, where the strengths of one system offset limitations of another. Collection efforts that cannot be processed in real time, such as imagery analysis, are cross-referenced with collection efforts from SOF and clandestine personnel or information warfare capabilities to create a more holistic intelligence picture than would be possible with a lone system.

Deep reconnaissance operations feed the PLAA’s military planning process during all phases. PLAA commanders may request or be allocated deep reconnaissance assets based on mission requirements. Much of the collection performed in support of tactical echelons is performed by manned and unmanned aircraft, with dismounted ground forces in support. Intelligence is collected in a cycle, wherein collection assets are paired with areas of interest as part of a wider collection plan.

Each CA-BDE houses numerous UASs, with some in the reconnaissance battalion and some in the artillery battalion. These units operate group two and possibly group three UA, enabling aerial surveillance with a sophisticated suite of sensors in a maximum combat radius of roughly 80 km to 100 km. Sensor options available include simple visual sensors, advanced electro-optical telescopic sensors, infrared sensors, radars, and passive SIGINT sensors. Many PLAA UA are reconfigurable based on mission requirements, allowing commanders to tailor sensor suites to support the collection plan. The reconnaissance battalion’s UASs support the ground reconnaissance efforts of the battalion.

The CA-BDE employs limited technical reconnaissance capabilities. These include electronic intelligence (ELINT) and SIGINT systems that support collection efforts through surveillance of the electromagnetic spectrum. PLAA systems of this type were traditionally limited to simple radio directionfinding equipment; ELINT and SIGINT operations were clearly less important than ground patrols. PLAA reforms place much greater emphasis on ELINT and SIGINT, particularly in support of reconnaissance and counterfire operations. PLAA tactical-level ELINT and SIGINT capabilities include radio direction finding, network surveillance, radar detection, and fire finding. These capabilities are rare, and the doctrine and training surrounding their deployment is immature. The systems fielded may vary widely in capability. PLAA commanders also employ decoy systems, designed to spoof, jam, or deceive enemy collection systems, as part of their intelligence operations.

CA-BDEs will likely receive significant ELINT and SIGINT intelligence support from group army collection efforts and regional military capabilities such as dedicated ELINT and SIGINT surveillance aircraft.

Joint and national assets may provide information to CA-BDE commanders and intelligence officers. These assets include rare and highly capable ELINT and SIGINT platforms, satellite surveillance, cyber intelligence, and political intelligence. The degree to which these collection assets are available to the CA-BDE vary significantly. A CA-BDE, for instance, may receive direct support from a space-based asset for a high-priority mission, but it may only passively access national-level intelligence data at other times.

National-level assets also contribute heavily to deception campaigns, providing disinformation and decoy efforts that support tactical operations. Wide-area deception operations are considered a very high-priority mission, but it is unclear how effectively they are coordinated with activities at tactical echelons. Other joint assets include manned reconnaissance and strike aircraft operated by air divisions in support of theater commands, national- level SOF, naval surface and subsurface vessels, and clandestine intelligence operations—both domestic and abroad.

Of note, the People’ Liberation Army Strategic Support Force (PLASSF) is a unified national-level intelligence command, integrating all-source intelligence into a single, easily accessible menu of options presented to lower echelon commanders.