The strategic role of ground-based Communications Intelligence (COMINT) in modern conflicts
Adaptation to current threats
The war in Ukraine underscores the critical role of ground-based Communications Intelligence (COMINT) in modern warfare. These systems are essential for precise targeting, reconnaissance, and providing decision-makers with actionable intelligence, particularly in contested environments like Ukraine, where flat terrain, a stagnant ground war, and limited air operations force reliance on ground-based COMINT.
Adversaries increasingly use advanced communication technologies, such as LTE/5G, low-detection waveforms, and multi-band radios, making it challenging to detect and exploit their signals. Militaries must continually evolve COMINT capabilities to address these emerging threats. Modern systems with highly sensitive sensors and open architectures support detailed signal analysis, long-term monitoring, and comprehensive frequency coverage, making them critical to modern battlefield operations.
Ground-based Communications Intelligence (COMINT) are essential in modern warfare for precise targeting, reconnaissance, and providing decision-makers with actionable intelligence.
Gregor Zowierucha, CEO of PLATH, highlights the advantages of ground-based systems, stating that "modern, ground-based systems equipped with highly sensitive sensors can achieve more than double the penetration depth for reconnaissance compared to systems available 20 years ago." He also emphasizes the importance of tailored, open-system architectures to address specific use cases.
A lot of other companies also underline the strategic importance of COMINT for national security, describing these systems as vital for collecting, structuring, and utilizing intelligence to provide early warnings, reveal enemy capabilities, and inform military and political decisions. These solutions remain crucial for ensuring freedom of action in both symmetric and asymmetric warfare scenarios.
Read the full article online here: Journal of Electromagnetic Dominance (JEDM) - November 2024 <Paywall> - “Reaping the Signal Harvest”
What exactly is COMINT?
COMINT, communication intelligence, involves the monitoring and interception of radio frequency signals in a given area, providing the armed forces with valuable information about the enemy.
COMINT solutions typically monitor HF, VHF and UHF frequency bands used for tactical, operational and strategic level communications in a combat area and classify, detect, analyze and locate signals of interest to support situational awareness and decision-making processes.
However, the ability to detect and identify specific signals of interest is becoming increasingly challenging as the number of communications increases, the number of new procedures and the complexity of these increase, as well as the proportion of digital and partially encrypted signals.
Modern COMINT solutions from PLATH should also be able to autonomously collect, identify, analyze and evaluate large quantities of signals from a specific area in order to successfully detect and locate targets. The high degree of automation makes it possible to take over many of our customers' routine tasks, allowing them to focus on the essential decisions. The targeted use of AI in our current systems also accelerates downstream analysis and significantly improves our customers' decision-making scope. Nevertheless, depending on the mission background, 'man in the loop' can always be ensured here too.
PLATH COMINT systems are capable of supporting cross-domain operations on land, in the air and at sea, including the integration of COMINT payloads on board semi-autonomous platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), UGVs or USVs to enable a whole new dimension of intelligence gathering.
Development of the market for Communication Intelligence (COMINT)
According to market research by firms like Maximize Market Research the Communication Intelligence (COMINT) market is making waves! Valued at a solid $8.22 Billion in 2023, it's set to skyrocket to $12.95 Billion by 2030, with a steady CAGR of 6.70%.
Why is it growing?
The rising global demand for advanced security technologies, particularly in defense and aerospace, is fueling this surge. COMINT’s unique ability to intercept and analyze communication signals makes it indispensable for national security, border surveillance, and military operations. 𝗧𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀 are the growing need for security against cross-border threats and the increased adoption of COMINT tech in military and law enforcement.
With advancements like the U.S. military’s 5G-enabled JADC2 system and the integration of KA-band satellite communications, the future looks bright for COMINT. Major players like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems are leading the charge, ensuring the market’s robust growth.