What is a digital RF memory (DRFM) and what role does it play in EW?

• A. DRFM stores, digitizes, and re-transmits RF signals to create spoofed or deceptive echoes, enabling advanced deception and target misidentification.
• B. DRFM uses digital memory to store radar imagery for later playback.
• C. DRFM is a passive receiver with no retransmission capability.
• D. DRFM increases transmitter power to jam distant receivers.

Answer: (B)

At the heart of DRFM is using digital memory to capture, store, and replay the actual RF waveform in a way that the radar sees convincing, manipulated echoes. A digital RF memory grabs the incoming radar return, digitizes it, keeps a copy in memory, and then re-radiates a modified version of that same waveform. By adjusting timing, phase, amplitude, and even Doppler characteristics in the digital domain before re-transmission, it can create false targets, spoof ranges, or imitate different velocities, all while preserving the coherence that makes the deception believable to the radar.

This capability is what makes DRFM powerful in electronic warfare: it doesn’t just jam or overwhelm the radar with noise; it actively fabricates echoes that look like real radar returns, steering the radar’s interpretation away from the true situation. A description that talks about storing radar imagery describes a different concept—the imagery is a processed result, not the raw RF signal DRFM manipulates. And DRFM is not just a passive receiver with no retransmission, nor simply a device to boost transmitter power; its deception relies on re-radiating carefully crafted copies of the captured RF signal.