Electronic Warfare, or EW, is any military action involving the use of electromagnetic and directed energy to control the electromagnetic spectrum to attack the enemy. EW contains three major subdivisions: Electronic Attack, Electronic Protection, and Electronic Warfare Support.

Electronic Attack is any action taken to attack the adversary with the intent of degrading, neutralizing, or destroying the adversary's combat capability in order to prevent the effective use of the electromagnetic spectrum.

While Electronic Attack is offensive, Electronic Protection is defensive, and protects friendly use of the electromagnetic spectrum. Electronic Warfare Support supports the joint force commander by detecting, identifying, and locating intentional or unintentional sources of radiated electromagnetic energy for the purpose of immediate threat recognition.