Fundamental Principles of Electronic Warfare (EW 101)
Course Dates: September 14-16, 2026 | 8:30 AM – 4:00 PM
Course Location: John Hopkins University
Kossiakoff Conference Center
Classrooms 7-8
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, Maryland 20723
Course Length: 20 hours total delivered across 3 sessions
Continuing Education Units (CEUs): 20
Description: This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles of electronic warfare (EW), covering the foundational concepts required to understand modern EW systems and operations. Topics include EW fundamentals, RF mathematics, antennas and receivers, emitter detection and geolocation, radar systems, and electronic attack and protection techniques. The course combines theory with practical examples to build intuition and analytical skills applicable to real-world EW problems.
Who Should Attend: Engineers, analysts, program managers, and military personnel seeking a foundational understanding of electronic warfare. Ideal for those new to EW or professionals transitioning into EW-related roles.
Registration Notice: This course is limited to 50 participants. After the first 50 registrations, a waitlist will automatically be used. If a spot opens, individuals on the waitlist will be contacted in order.
Notice: Association of Old Crows has leased or rented facilities from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). However, Association of Old Crows and any programs operated by Association of Old Crows are not related to or affiliated with APL or the Johns Hopkins University in any way.
Agenda:
- EW Principles & Overview
- Math for Electronic Warfare
- Antennas, Receivers & Signal Processing
- Search and Emitter Location
- Radar Characteristics
- Electronic Attack Concepts & Calculations
- Jamming Techniques and Electronic Protection
- Chaff, Decoys, and IR/EO Threats & Countermeasures
Learning Objectives
- Outcome 1: An understanding of the core principles of electronic warfare, including RF fundamentals, radar basics, and the roles of electronic support, attack, and protection.
- Outcome 2: Hands-on familiarity with solving introductory EW problems using MATLAB/Octave, enabling students to perform calculations, visualize RF behavior, and build intuition through computational analysis.
- Outcome 3: The ability to apply foundational EW concepts to real-world scenarios, using analytical and computational tools to better understand system performance and tradeoffs.
Required Materials
Please bring a laptop, and have either MATLAB (https://www.mathworks.com/) or Octave (https://www.octave.org/) installed on your computer. The Instructor, Chuck Quintero, will give out a Google drive link to download the MATLAB/Octave simulations and lecture notes.
Registration
Course Pricing
- AOC Member – $1,400
- Gov/Mil – $1,400
- Non-Member – $1,600
Hotel Recommendations
AOC does not have a hotel block for this Course. However, we do recommend the following hotel as it is within walking distance to the venue.
Homewood Suites by Hilton Columbia/Laurel
7531 Montpelier Road, Laurel, MD
Rates from $151+
Instructor
Chuck Quintero is an engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory specializing in RF seekers and remote sensing in electronically competitive environments. He has 40 years of experience at RCA Missile & Surface Radar, Martin Marietta, General Electric, Lockheed Martin, ITT, L3 Harris, Northrop Grumman, Leidos, SRI International, and APL in electronic warfare systems, signal processing, and applied RF engineering, supporting national security missions.
Event Topic
Defense, MilitaryRelevant Audiences
All Military, All Federal Government
AOC Member:
$ 1,400.00
Gov/Military:
$ 1,400.00
Non-Member of AOC:
$ 1,600.00
Kossiakoff Conference Center
11100 Johns Hopkins Road
Laurel, Maryland, US, 20723