{"id":2783,"date":"2026-05-09T07:22:35","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:22:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=2783"},"modified":"2026-04-13T11:47:48","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T09:47:48","slug":"the-sino-u-s-race-for-spectrum-supremacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/?p=2783","title":{"rendered":"The Sino-U.S. Race for Spectrum Supremacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By\u00a0<\/span>Shah Muhammad<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Imagine a future warfare scenario where two adversaries launch jets and high-altitude drones against each other\u2019s military targets. One side outpaces, by a few milliseconds, the other in intercepting the other\u2019s communication channels, effectively dominating the electromagnetic spectrum by blinding the pilots, jamming the drones and paralyzing the command and control nodes.<\/p>\n

The prevailing force secures a greater edge by generating thousands of false targets to deceive the enemy\u2019s entire aerial fleet, while its Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEWAC) aircraft is rendered invisible from enemy detection. This spectrum supremacy could be viewed as a prelude to multi-domain supremacy \u2013 across air, land, sea, space and cyber \u2014 a trend that is reflective of recent advances in electronic warfare (EW) by China and the U.S.<\/p>\n

In August, Chinese scientists successfully tested a new radar innovation called the\u00a0frequency diverse array<\/a>. China claims it can render the AEWAC almost invisible to detection. This new technique modulates frequencies to mislead enemy sensors, thereby protecting the high-value spy aircraft for a sustained EW. The research team has described it as a \u201cnew paradigm of electromagnetic offense and defense, detecting while jamming, positioning while deceiving<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In June, China leveraged a\u00a06G-powered EW system<\/a>\u00a0to amplify jamming capabilities and \u00a0enhance connectivity across multiple platforms. The system also enables the simultaneous generation of false targets to disrupt the enemy\u2019s situational awareness.<\/p>\n

In August 2024, Chinese scientists claim to have developed an\u00a0analogue-to-digital (ADC) chip<\/a>\u00a0that enhances radar detection and response time by 91.46 percent. Quicker detection time corresponds to a greater edge over an adversary in high-stakes and time-constrained combat environments.<\/p>\n

The advances are echoed by the\u00a0U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. In its 2024 report<\/a>, the commission concluded that the People\u2019s Liberation Army (PLA) \u201chas developed substantial EW capabilities to detect, target and disrupt the U.S., allied, and partner forces in the Indo-Pacific.\u201d The upcoming 2025 report may raise greater alarms, given the rapid pace of recent EW developments by China.<\/p>\n

Advances dovetail with aggressive behavior<\/strong><\/h5>\n

Importantly, these EW advances come against the backdrop of China\u2019s growing assertive posture in the contentious zones.<\/p>\n

In 2024, Western leaders interpreted the \u201cfreedom of navigation\u201d passage of Chinese warships near Alaska as a\u00a0message to NATO<\/a>\u00a0against further expansion in the Arctic region. Besides the joint naval drills with Russia, China recently\u00a0deployed<\/a>\u00a0its two aircraft carriers east of the Philippines. Lately, the sightings of China\u2019s carrier-based electronic warfare jets, the\u00a0J-15DT<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 equipped with three EW pods \u2013 were also a subject of intense deliberations.<\/p>\n

U.S has made strides<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h5>\n

The U.S. has taken several recent actions to counter China.<\/p>\n

For starters, it has emphasized the pre-eminence of spectrum in its\u00a0Joint All-Domain Command & Control (JADC2) Strategy<\/a>, stating that future warfare will be carried out in \u201cdegraded and contested\u201d spectrum.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the U.S. military has deployed an anti-drone electromagnetic pulse system called\u00a0Leonidas<\/a>\u00a0that can take down incoming drones through a directed microwave pulse. It could prove effective in protecting the forward bases from a swarm attack and, in turn, facilitating the friendly drones in their offensive strikes. In view of its jamming capabilities, this directed energy weapon signals a U.S. push to disrupt enemy drone communication channels and dominate the spectrum.<\/p>\n

In April 2024, the U.S. Air Force awarded a $ 6.4 million contract to Southwest Research Institute\u2019s advanced electronic warfare team to develop an\u00a0algorithmic EW system<\/a>. It envisions artificial intelligence-enabled spectrum supremacy, imparting greater autonomy in the processing of vast information.<\/p>\n

The U.S. military tested its advanced EW capabilities in the recent\u00a0Project Convergence Capstone 5<\/a>\u00a0exercise in order to enhance its operational readiness against \u201csophisticated adversaries,\u201d a departure from counterterrorism operations against inferior enemies.<\/p>\n

Still playing catch up<\/strong><\/h5>\n

But despite the activity, the U.S. is playing catch-up, as the USCC 2024 report acknowledges that Chinese EW capabilities potentially are superior. And continued Chinese EW edge could alter the strategic environment of the Indo-Pacific region in Beijing\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n

From detection and engagement to jamming and deception, China and the U.S. aim to secure spectrum supremacy for a strong competitive edge on the battlefield. In this regard, the most recent\u00a0India-Pakistan aerial clash<\/a>, wherein Pakistan claimed to have downed at least five Indian jets, is a befitting example of how spectrum supremacy can result in overall aerial supremacy.<\/p>\n

The Pakistani military attributed the combat success to spectrum supremacy, in addition to the seamless execution of a networked strike, which corresponds to the shortening of the\u00a0kill chain<\/a>, the sequential steps from identification to the engagement of a military target.<\/p>\n

In the new character of warfare driven by multi-domain operations, the victor won\u2019t be determined by firepower alone; spectrum supremacy, integrated with advanced technologies, may emerge as central to battlefield dominance.<\/p>\n

The essential question is, will China take a decisive lead over the U.S. in commanding the spectrum in future warfare?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By\u00a0Shah Muhammad Imagine a future warfare scenario where two adversaries launch jets and high-altitude drones against each other\u2019s military targets. One side outpaces, by a few milliseconds, the other in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2986,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[31,512,88],"class_list":["post-2783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-opinions","tag-china","tag-spectrum-supremacy","tag-us"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/US-CHINA.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2783"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2987,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2783\/revisions\/2987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2986"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thedefencenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}