Electronic attack

Electronic attack, also called electronic countermeasures, is part of electronic warfare, which uses of electromagnetic energy, directed energy, or antiradiation weapons to attack personnel, facilities, or equipment with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying enemy combat capability.

Electronic attack may attempt to "burn out" and permanently destroy its targets, but it is most likely to make it temporarily ineffective, with its users aware of that fact, or to make the target provide false information. The former is called, among other things, generic jamming, while the latter may be called deceptive jamming.

Meaconing is a specific form of deceptive jamming directed at navigational systems. It will receiving radio beacon, or navigational radar, signals and rebroadcasting them, on the same frequency to confuse navigation. The meaconing stations cause inaccurate bearings to be obtained by aircraft or ground stations. Meaconing also includes deception directed at active navigational aids, which, in normal operation, transmit a response signal on a different frequency than used to trigger the aid. In such cases, meaconing sends out a stronger faked response to confuse other receivers.