EW soft-kill

Tairos EW soft-kill equipment applies a threat-matched electronic response before a kinetic layer is committed. Drone detection and Sentinel Fusion provide the track and classification; the EW system directs the selected effect toward the known threat geometry.

Electronic defeat is one layer, not a universal answer. Picket escalates to another response when the target has no vulnerable link or when the electronic attempt does not produce the required outcome.

Response classes

Response	Use	Boundary
RF link disruption	Breaks an active control or video link and triggers the target’s own link-loss behavior	Does not affect a vehicle with no active control link
Navigation disruption	Denies satellite-navigation reception in the selected area	Requires friendly-force and civil-system deconfliction; does not guarantee defeat of inertial or visually aided systems
Navigation deception	Introduces misleading navigation information to a compatible receiver	Target- and receiver-dependent; requires tighter technical and legal control
Protocol intervention	Uses a known, compatible control protocol to command a target to stop, land or return	Does not apply to encrypted, unknown or linkless systems and requires a maintained protocol library

The selected configuration can combine these response classes according to the threat set, legal environment and customer rules.

Sentinel-directed application

Sentinel already holds the threat bearing and classification when the EW layer is invoked. That supports:

• directional application of energy toward the track rather than broad-area transmission;
• selection of a response suited to a linked, navigation-dependent or autonomous target;
• a visible engagement state in Panorama; and
• controlled handoff to a kinetic layer when required.

Deployment configurations

Directional mast

Protects a fixed site or known approach sector as part of Picket.

Vehicle-mounted system

Moves electronic protection with a deployed force or mobile defensive belt.

Operator-carried system

Provides close-in point or convoy defense where a compact directed response is appropriate.

Why layering matters

Control-link disruption can defeat remotely piloted drones but cannot stop every pre-programmed one-way aircraft. Navigation disruption can degrade some autonomous routes but can also affect friendly systems. A kinetic interceptor remains necessary for threats that survive or do not expose an electronic vulnerability.

Responsible use

Electronic effects are applied within authorized airspace, spectrum and mission rules. The operator retains oversight; Sentinel does not expand the authorized modality, target class or area. Friendly-system deconfliction, regulatory approval and program-specific end-user controls are required.