Hybrid radar jamming and communication apparatus

A hybrid radar jamming system and message communication system, the system being operable as a node in a communication network, the system comprising:

• an RF receiving system configured to receive RF energy transmitted from a hostile radar;
• an Electronic Warfare (EW) control module configured to determine an operating frequency of the hostile radar according to the received RF energy, and to output a responsive jamming phase control signal;
• a communications module configured to encode a first message as a series of symbols representative of a series of message RF phase shifts, and to output the series of message RF phase shifts at a communication chip rate as a message phase control signal;
• a selector configured to select, as a carrier wave phase control signal, either the jamming phase control signal or the message phase control signal;
• a carrier wave modulator configured to impose phase modulations onto a jamming RF carrier wave according to the carrier wave phase control signal;
• and
• an RF transmitting system configured to transmit RF energy according to the jamming RF carrier wave that is operable as a hostile radar jamming signal, the transmitted RF energy being further operable as a message communication signal having the first message encoded therein when the selector selects the message phase control signal, said message communication signal being detectable by at least one other node in the communication network;
• the communications module being further configured to detect and extract a second message encoded in a jamming RF carrier wave transmitted by another node within the communication network.