Taiwan is next month to test a jamming device that might cause large-scale electromagnetic interference in the sea off Yilan County and along its coastline, a government notice to limit navigation in the test area said.
Two radio jamming tests encompassing the coastal region between Toucheng (頭城) and Suao (蘇澳) townships and the nearby sea would be conducted from Sept. 2 to 6 and from Sept. 9 to 13, a Ministry of Transportation and Communications notice said.
A source with knowledge of the matter said the tests are trials for a new mobile electronic warfare system developed for the armed forces by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications
The trials are being conducted at sea because the system is powerful enough to disrupt civilian devices within its area of effect, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source declined to elaborate on whether the system is a new capability or an upgraded variant of something currently fielded.
The institute is developing or has delivered to the military three types of jammers, including a system used by the army to counter drones, a system capable of disrupting signal-activated improvised explosive devices and a truck-mounted mobile jammer system, he said.
The jammer vehicle — the most powerful system in active service — can detect, decrypt and jam very high-frequency and ultra-high-frequency broadband signals, or locate their origin for other assets to conduct strikes, the source said.
The institute continues to design next-generation jammer systems in anticipation of ever-evolving threats and an increasingly complex environment for electronic warfare operations, they said.
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