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Introduction to Electronic Defense Systems – third edition F. Neri Artech House, 16 Sussex Street, London SW1V 4RW, UK. 2018. xvii; 582 pp. Illustrated. £155 (20% discount available to RAeS members via www.artechhouse.com using RAE2020 promotion code). ISBN 978-1-63081-534-9.

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Introduction to Electronic Defense Systems – third edition F. Neri Artech House, 16 Sussex Street, London SW1V 4RW, UK. 2018. xvii; 582 pp. Illustrated. £155 (20% discount available to RAeS members via www.artechhouse.com using RAE2020 promotion code). ISBN 978-1-63081-534-9.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2020

Bruce Hargrave
Bruce Hargrave*
Affiliation:
Postgraduate Military Programmes Leader University of Lincoln
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Book Review
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 124 , Issue 1282 , December 2020 , pp. 2022
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Royal Aeronautical Society

While most would agree that electronic warfare (EW) has reached new levels of sophistication in the years since the first edition of this book first appeared in 1991, the basic physics that describe the transmission and detection of electromagnetic radiation still hold true. There is, therefore, still a need for publications such as this, which cover the subject from first principles through to modern applications and which serve as both an introduction to the subject and as something that will replace a well-thumbed reference work for experienced practitioners in the field.

The third edition of this weighty tome has recently been published and serves to update earlier editions (the second edition appeared in 2006), in particular by updating the weapons platforms (ships, aircraft, radar systems etc.) that have emerged in the intervening years. Filippo Neri, the book’s author, holds a PhD in the subject and works as a designer of electronic defence systems and so would seem ideally placed to write knowledgeably on the subject. While some will still baulk at seeing US spellings such as ‘Defense’ in works that are on sale in the UK (and other countries and territories that use UK English conventions), they may also (perhaps) accept that the market for specialist publications such as this may not allow for more than one version in the English language. The title of the book avoids the use of the term ‘electronic warfare’, but readers are left in no doubt that ‘defence’ (to give the correct spelling!) is a double-edged sword and, perhaps more so in this subject than any other; its corollary of ‘attack’ is often just a wavelength or two away.

In the years since the second edition appeared in 2006, concepts such as artificial intelligence and cyber warfare have come to the fore, and the new edition covers these and other recent innovative areas well. The laws of physics may not have changed, yet their application changes seemingly every day. For this reason alone, this new edition is apt and timely and will make a worthy replacement (or initial purchase) for all those studying and working in this vital area.