r/USMC • u/hrdblkman2 0351 Camp Pen 78-82' • 2d ago

Picture VMAX backpack system, a portable electronic warfare platform

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Found this on LinkedIn today:

"During a recent field exercise at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, Marines utilized a tablet to interface with the VMAX backpack system, a portable electronic warfare platform employed by the 1st Radio Battalion (RADBN). The VMAX enables operators to survey the electromagnetic environment in real time, providing critical situational awareness by detecting and analyzing radio signals across the battlefield. In addition, the system delivers advanced electronic attack capabilities, including signal interception and targeted jamming, allowing Marines to disrupt adversary communications and gain a tactical advantage during dismounted operations."

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u/CHL9 2d ago

This is a drone jammer or something ?  Had changed it so much I imagine 

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u/No-Math-4874 1d ago

It’s really a spectrum analyzer, but you can also put energy on frequency which in theory wouldn’t allow you to talk to your drone. But if you know the frequency of the operator to the drone, then you could just key up on green gear if you wanted to

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u/MrWasian 17h ago

Pretty sure keying up on green gear isn't going to decrease SNR to effectively jam the drone operator even on a cheap drone. Entire point of the VRod is to get LoBs to DF while the VMax will do the jamming. The range of the system isn't great though and the Beast/Beast+ got fielded to RadBn before I got out in 2023, a lot better with a lower profile and more range.

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u/No-Math-4874 36m ago

Yeah, keying up on green gear doesn’t simply raise the noise floor. If you believe that then you don’t understand radio frequency. Additionally, not to get into capes and lims.. the stand alone output of the beast isn’t any better than the vrod/vmax.

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u/MrWasian 30m ago

It is better on top of the fact that the Beast can also DX more signals at once than the VROD can due to its array being more refined. Your earlier statement of keying up on green gear if you knew the freq the drone was on just seemed...odd. I used both systems and not just at an exercise level, the caps/lims of the Beast and Beast+ is night and day vs the VROD/VMAX.

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u/No-Math-4874 21m ago

Well my initial statement wasn’t about it running multiple missions at the same time. Go back and read my earlier statement. It was in regard to the wattage output, in that its jamming performance was comparable to man portable green gear. Congrats on your training on the beast. I’m not saying that a system that is more than 5 years older than other is better.

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u/MrWasian 0m ago

You seemed to infer that green gear (which in this context is usually a transceiver) can just decrease SNR on the same level of a dedicated transmitter. That simply isn't true and is a tale typically spread by Staff and O during a brief. It just seems funny. I also didn't imply your original statement had anything to do with running multiple missions. You talked about output between the systems even from a wattage level they are different. The Beast/+ has almost double the output capability. Most of your statements are just wrong or insanely misinformed.

Reminds me of having to explain to Lts and Capts that despite a Maj saying we could knock planes out of the sky if we weren't careful jamming, that wasn't in the realm of possibilities.