The
NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
M band is the obsolete designation given to the
radio frequencies
Radio frequency (RF) is the oscillation rate of an alternating electric current or voltage or of a magnetic, electric or electromagnetic field or mechanical system in the frequency range from around to around . This is roughly between the upper ...
from 60 to 100
GHz
The hertz (symbol: Hz) is the unit of frequency in the International System of Units (SI), equivalent to one event (or cycle) per second. The hertz is an SI derived unit whose expression in terms of SI base units is s−1, meaning that one he ...
(equivalent to
wavelength
In physics, the wavelength is the spatial period of a periodic wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.
It is the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase on the wave, such as two adjacent crests, tro ...
s between 5 and 3 mm) during the cold war period. Since 1992 frequency allocations, allotment and assignments are in line to
NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement __NOTOC__
NATO Joint Civil/Military Frequency Agreement (NJFA) and is the universal NATO common civil/military treaty to regulate the military access to the radio frequency spectrum in the range of 14 kHz to 100 GHz in peacetime, during ...
(NJFA).
However, in order to identify military radio spectrum requirements, e.g. for crises management planning, training,
Electronic warfare
Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...
activities, or in military operations, this system is still in use.
The ''NATO M band'' is also a subset of the
EHF band as defined by the
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
.
It intersects with the
V (50–75 GHz) and
W band
The W band of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum ranges from 75 to 110 GHz, wavelength ≈2.7–4 mm. It sits above the U.S. IEEE-designated V band (40–75 GHz) in frequency, and overlaps the NATO designated M ban ...
(75–110 GHz) of the older
IEEE
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is a 501(c)(3) professional association for electronic engineering and electrical engineering (and associated disciplines) with its corporate office in New York City and its operation ...
classification system.
References
Radio spectrum
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