Like every capability, DEW provokes countermeasures, and it has its own limitations:
- Countermeasures: hardening and shielding of electronics (Faraday cages, filters), reflective or ablative coatings against lasers, rapid manoeuvring to deny the laser its dwell time, and simply distance/cover.
- DEW's own challenges: enormous power and cooling demands, heat dissipation, and precise target tracking at range. For now this determines where and how DEW can be employed — which is why many systems are mounted on ships or heavy vehicles, where enough power is available.
EW relevance
DEW belongs in the EW story because it uses the same spectrum as a weapon. The key lesson for the EW specialist: the dividing line between "soft kill" (EA) and "hard kill" is blurring, and concepts from earlier chapters — line of sight (Radar), atmospheric windows (Infrared), seeker dazzling (Laser and military applications), jamming (Electronic Counter Measures) — return, now with enough energy to have a lasting effect. Against cheap swarms (Counter-UAS & drone EW), DEW may moreover solve the economic problem that makes missiles too expensive.