Staying one step ahead

Throughout the long history of warfare, the ability to either acquire enemy intelligence or restrict access to your own has arguably had a greater impact than any other factor on the outcome of conflict.

This is particularly true of today’s fragmented, tense, and increasingly unpredictable world. And today, the requirement to stay one step ahead of the enemy by controlling and impacting the flow of intelligence is arguably the defence sector’s biggest driver of innovation.

At the forefront of this fast-paced field is L3Harris. One of the company’s UK divisions, located in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, designs and develops a host of advanced electronic systems for applications ranging from cybersecurity to infrastructure protection. But one of its biggest areas – accounting for around fifty per cent of its activities – is electronic warfare (EW). Here, it develops technologies ranging from electronic surveillance systems able to track, monitor and intercept enemy communications; electronic counter measures systems able to repel attacks by hostile forces; right through to the electronic attack systems that can be used directly impact an adversary’s abilities.