Why would an electronic warfare bird be doing over Afghanistan?
Why=what
All kinds of stuff. Listening to electronic things, communications, tracking signal emanations, etc. ,etc.
“one of four #USAF E-11A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node airplanes based in #Kandahar.”
https://twitter.com/BabakTaghvaee/status/1221778867943280640
Monitoring all communications in the area. We have them in the air over numerous areas around the globe.
The BACN system is so muscular that ground teams can use to make cell phone calls and texting, photos, directly to assets overhead, pilots, gunners, evac, etc.
Not really electronic warfare; it’s a relay platform for various radio and datalink systems. We have aircraft that can’t share info with each other, and radio comms in Afghanistan are challenging due to terrain/line-of-sign issues. The E-11A has the ability to relay and “translate” signals into formats that can be used by other platforms.
They also have the same relay package on a handful of Global Hawk drones; between the E-11 and the drones, they provide 24-hour coverage.