Why is that? Won't having ECM and jamming capabilities boost the survivability of the bird?
well, with some form of ECM, you're actively emitting, though, to be fair, i don't think that's really a problem in this context anyway lol.
the Erieye does carry a system called HES-21 (our's do atleast, it was an option at time of procurement), however, HES-21 seems to be more of a sensor package that aids defensive ability than something that would be relied on totally. For example, SAAB make it clear that itll help in decision making with regards to defensive countermeasures, infact, to me, this kind of seems similar to the Eurofighter Typhoon's Praetorian DASS, which with its pre-programmed threat library (which obviously is a thing for HES-21, in fact, all of these points im about to make apply), using antennas around the aircraft, tries to identify the emitter, classify it, and then release appropriate countermeasures when the time is right, however, there's two main areas where HES-21 falls behind, one being the systems employed to defeat the threat, the other being an electronic countermeasure to defeat the threat (this may not be accurate, however, this is my interpretation of the information provided by SAAB.) DASS is able to employ a towed decoy, DRFM based RF decoys, and lastly, ECM, with none of this being found on HES-21/Erieye. What this basically means is that HES-21 will be able to classify, detect, find and save threats, then feed this information to an operator who will then, with its assistance, be given the most optimal means of defending the aircraft, through a combination of flares and chaff, perhaps even feeding the pilots maneuvering cues to ensure the countermeasures work as best as they can (this is guesswork on my part, DASS does this.) Maybe there is a self protection part to the system somewhere, however, its not disclosed or made obvious that its present, nor can i infer from the material that i have, that some sort of self protection jammer or suite is present or baked into the aircraft.
