Access denied: RAF focuses on electronic warfare and kinetic weapons for SEAD

摘要

The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is overhauling its suppression of enemy air defence (SEAD) capabilities to better address emerging anti-access/area-denial (A2/AD) postures. Historically "the RAF performed SEAD for kinetic effect", noted a senior source connected with the service's electronic warfare (EW) community. This was focused on the Panavia Tornado GR1 and later Tornado GR4 ground-attack aircraft deploying the BAE Systems/MBDA Air Launched Anti-Radiation Missile (ALARM), which entered service during Operation 'Desert Storm'in 1991 and was retired from service in 2013.