Beam Wars

In today’s story, radar has been developed and we venture back to WWII to see the first large-scale use of Electromagnetic Warfare (EW). Electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) has played an important role in military operations since the dawn of the electronics age. Radar historian, Dr. Phil Judkins, University of Leeds, U.K. shares with us the untold stories of EW and EMSO in WWII, starting with the Battle of Britainーthe first time that a battle between two nations was fought entirely in the air. Dr. Judkins then walks us through The Beam Wars and the increasingly accurate use of radio air navigation systems that helped the British defeat the German air power. Finally, we cover the Blitz, a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, and show how the advanced radar tactics employed by the British helped to win the Battle and defeat the German’s attacks.
In today’s story, radar has been developed and we venture back to WWII to see the first large-scale use of Electromagnetic Warfare (EW). Electromagnetic spectrum operations (EMSO) has played an important role in military operations since the dawn of the electronics age. Radar historian, Dr. Phil Judkins, University of Leeds, U.K. shares with us the untold stories of EW and EMSO in WWII, starting with the Battle of Britainーthe first time that a battle between two nations was fought entirely in the air. Dr. Judkins then walks us through The Beam Wars and the increasingly accurate use of radio air navigation systems that helped the British defeat the German air power. Finally, we cover the Blitz, a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom, and show how the advanced radar tactics employed by the British helped to win the Battle and defeat the German’s attacks. 

To learn more about today’s topics or to stay updated on EMSO and EW developments, visit our website.

Thank you to our episode sponsor BAE Systems.



Beam Wars
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