The Army has decided to raise specialised brigades to carry out ‘electronic warfare’ to intercept, track and jam enemy communication, radar networks and UAVs.Such specialised ‘electronic warfare’ brigades will be dedicated to specific sectors along the borders with Pakistan and China, with a task to map, disrupt and blind enemy assets before a single shot is fired.At present, electronic warfare (EW) of the Army is handled by specialised ‘signals units’. The EW brigades will amalgamate existing structures and equipment to carry out electronic attacks, do signal intelligence and dominate radio waves along the borders.Part of EW’s role includes the need to provide real-time feed intelligence into artillery and air defence networks to take out enemy targets like UAV and ariel threats.Sources said it was part of the broader technology restructuring of the Army which was kicked off after Operation Sindoor in May last year against Pakistan. EW brigades are part of a series of new, highly agile, technology-enabled military formations introduced under the Army’s modernisation drive.It also marks a major structural shift in how the Army plans to conduct future conflicts. Driven heavily by the operational lessons of modern drone-heavy battlefields and events like Operation Sindoor.The Ministry of Defence is backing the move by adding new technology. A Rs 5,150-crore deal was okayed by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in October 2025 for upgrading the indigenous Dharashakti Electronic Warfare (EW) system.Designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and produced by a consortium, including Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) and private firms like L&T, this advanced promises to revolutionise the Army’s operational edge along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China and western borders with Pakistan.The system, which was showcased during a joint Army-IAF exercise in September 2025, displayed its ability to neutralise Pakistani UAVs at 150 km. It provided real-time threat analysis and jamming.The Ministry of Defence has also signed a Rs 1,476 crore contract with Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) to procure five advanced, ground-based mobile EW systems. These highly mobile systems are specifically designed to move alongside advancing troops in rugged terrains. They are slated for immediate deployment with field formations along the LAC with China and Western borders.EW is seen as modern warfare’s increasingly crucial dimension and winner of the physical battle on land, sea and air is being increasingly decided through this virtual battle. The EW brigades will be scanning each radio, radar and data emissions. These emissions and locations to a data bank is pulled out in a conflict to target enemy’s electronics. In modern warfare, all military systems — fighter aircraft, tanks, guns and missiles — emit signals, that are tracked.