In this interview, we talk to Ahmet, author of the book Self-Protection Jammer Systems. We discuss the motivation behind writing the book, the target audience, the most useful aspects of the book, the challenges of writing the book, and advice for other engineers who are considering writing a book.
Ahmet Güngör Pakfiliz graduated in Electrical Engineering from Yildiz Technical University in 1991. The same year, he was appointed lieutenant as an engineer officer in the Turkish Air Force. During the first years of his military life, he gained experience in radar and avionics system maintenance and procurement projects. He earned his MSc in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University in 1997. This year, he was appointed to the Electronic Warfare (EW) Department of the Turkish General Staff. From this point, he worked as a system engineer on radar and EW systems in procurement projects, pre-programming of the systems, and operational support. He received his Ph.D. in statistical signal processing in Electronics Engineering from Ankara University in 2004. From 2004 to 2013, he worked as a technical director and engineering management in different parts of the Turkish Armed Forces. From 2009-2011, he was the national representative of the NATO Science and Technology Organization Board’s Systems Concepts and Integration Panel. He retired from military service in 2013 as a Colonel.
1. Could you summarize the main content of your book? What are the key topics addressed?
The book comprehensively covers self-protection jammer (SPJ) systems and their utilization in different platforms. It delves into SPJ structures, jamming methods, mathematical background, and theory. Other topics include using SPJ systems, operational aspects, and future projections. The self-protection jammer systems are a vital part of self-protection electronic warfare (EW) systems. The book also examines radar warning receivers (RWR), chaff dispensers, and decoy systems. It elaborates on the signal processing techniques of SPJ and RWR and inspects the radar-guided weapon systems that SPJ systems target, along with the guidance methods and radar theory.
2. What is the primary purpose of your book? How do you envision it helping readers in their work or studies?
My book aims to provide intermediate—and high-level information about SPJ systems to the operational and engineering staff in the EW branch of government, military, and companies. It would also promote technical and operational aspects for graduate engineering students and high-level EW military courses. The book takes the subject in the hand in both technical and operational aspects. If the operational principles are unknown, technical knowledge helps the engineers only a limited amount. On the other hand, making an excellent operational plan would be a low possibility without knowing the technical background. This book supports technical staff with operational information and operational staff with technical expertise.
3. What sets your book apart from other works in the same field? Are there any innovative concepts, methodologies, or insights that make it stand out?
First, there are limited studies on SPJ systems, both books and academic papers. Since the topic is highly commercial, companies encourage engineers, developers, and experienced military veterans to develop new systems or concepts. Moreover, only a few companies produce EW systems, and they are under the control of national regulations. Only big defense companies work on SPJ system development. For this reason, novel approaches are not turned into academic papers and books but commercial secret systems. This book tries to fill this gap and is a candidate to inspire academic studies in this field and a reference source for designers. Another exceptional property of the book is the problems and their solutions. After each chapter, supplementary examples and solutions are given about the applications and real life. Generally, systems-related books with theoretical and operational information only give theory and do not supply additional problems and solutions. The jamming effectiveness (jamming to signal ratio—J/S) equations are derived for many different situations, which may not be encountered in any other source, making the “Self-Protection Jammer Systems” book a standout source.
4. Who is the intended readership for your book? Are there specific industries, professionals, or fields of study that would benefit most from this content?
The book’s intended readership is operational and engineering staff in the EW branch of government, military, and companies. It will benefit those who may work on EW design, implementation, project management, or operational support. SPJ Systems book also has the potential to provide technical and operational information on academic studies on SPJ systems. It may inspire graduate students who want to do their thesis studies on EW. The book is directly related to the electronic defense industry. Furthermore, this book is specific for EW professionals and is expected to benefit the SPJ field.
5. What are the most important lessons or insights you want readers to take away from this book?
EW and SPEW systems are not novel areas and can even be assumed to mature in most aspects. However, information is circulating in defense industry companies, and research and development studies are conducted by classified. For this reason, the operational requirements are known only to a small group. As a result, research and development are limited to a narrow circle, and conducting an academic study is barely possible. With this book, SPJ systems might pull more researchers’ attention.
Another critical observation is the communication weakness between the technical and operational branches. Almost always, if the operational requirements are not clearly defined, systems design and implementation may be challenging for technical personnel. The most important insight I want from the technical readers is to understand the operational concepts of the SPJ systems. On the other hand, I want operational personnel to understand the technical background of the systems. Thus, they can prepare the operational requirements more efficiently and assess the production more logically.
6. Does your book include any original research, case studies, or data? If so, could you highlight some of the most significant findings?
The book has some original research, case studies, and data. These can be summarized as follows:
The jamming effectiveness (J/S) equations are derived for different situations that have not been conducted before in any source. I also developed some original MATLAB codes presented in the book. I put future projections about the systems and their usage in different platforms that may inspire the researchers for future works. The mechanism among operational, technical, and intelligence branches is inspected from a technical point of view, which is hardly found in a source. The preprogramming and reprogramming processes are defined in technical and operational ways. SPJ system usage in unmanned air vehicles (UAV) is explained elaborately but is not usually met in a source.
7.Does your book address any new or emerging trends in the field? How does it prepare readers for future developments?
My book addresses two significant emerging trends in the SPJ field, which are summarized as follows:
The importance of cognitive EW. These applications are given in the book as the machine learning and deep learning utilization in almost all the sub processes of SPJ, RWR systems, and the EW support centers. The other is the usage concept of SPJ systems in UAVs. This topic is examined from the operational and technical points of view.
8.What personal experiences, if any, have shaped your perspective or approach to the topics discussed in your book?
I want to state that all the parts include novelties regarding technical and operational aspects and the connection between the subjects. The book ultimately reflects my personal experiences. Here, I explain the prominent novelties and their contribution to the literature. In this context, some topics in the first five chapters and the ninth chapter have directly been shaped by my military and academic experiences, such as using SPEW Systems in different platforms. Radar jamming equations for different situations. Some signal deinterleaving methods. Emitter identification database formation. Machine learning and deep learning in RWR processes. Future trends sections in each chapter. However, the following Chapters are unique for the literature, and my military and academic experiences have shaped the chapters’ perspectives and approaches:
Chapter 6 (Self-Protection Jammer Systems): SPJ architecture, SPJ constraints in dense threat environments, and future trends in SPJ systems.
Chapter 7 (Effective Use of the Self-Protection Jammer): The chapter has been shaped by my experiences.
Chapter 8 (Use of Self-Protection Jammer Systems for Airborne Platforms): The chapter has been shaped by my experiences.
Learn more about the book on our websites:
ARTECH HOUSE USA : Self-Protection Jammer Systems
ARTECH HOUSE U.K.: Self-Protection Jammer Systems
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