Allen Vanguard delivers additional Turmoil decoys to NATO customer

Our adversaries understand that command and control is simultaneously the greatest strength and the biggest weakness of NATO forces. This is why it is important to protect command nodes by masking their signatures in as many ways as possible. Allen Vanguard’s recent deliveries of Turmoil decoys is one example of how this can be done. 

An image was recently shared on x.com showing a French command post exercise. The command post command post consisted of a set of vehicles under camouflage netting, nestled in amongst some trees. Some distance away was a radio frequency decoy emitting, according to the post, more powerful signals than the command post. 

This type of activity took something of a backseat for Western forces over the past 30 years as they grappled with the demands of counter-insurgency warfare but it is certainly back in vogue now. With Russia and China both flexing their muscle in the electromagnetic spectrum, and Russian academics writing about the value of striking targets based on their radio frequency signals alone, it makes good sense to build decoys and use them. 

• Allen-Vanguard delivers first TURMOIL radio frequency decoy – Calibre Defence 
• Calibre interview: Stuart Wilson, BD director, Allen Vanguard 
• IDEX 2025: Allen Vanguard unveils NXT RF signal processor – Calibre Defence 

Especially as many forces have gotten used to employing their radios without considering how they might look to an adversary’s EW specialists. Poor comms hygiene can lead to the ready location of a command post through the concentration and density of emissions, without an enemy having to fly a drone over the area or send troops forward. In a world where an adversary aims to shorten targeting cycles down to minutes, this tell-tale signals profile could lead to an artillery strike or worse. 

This context is all pertinent to the news for this article, which is that Allen Vanguard has delivered another set of its Turmoil  decoys to a NATO customer, believed to be the same customer as its previous order that was delivered in April of this year. “The fact our customer has ordered more systems is a testament to its value in this increasingly contested and congested battlespace,” Steve Drover, Business Development for Allen-Vanguard said in the November 13th press release. 

Turmoil is a radio signal emulator that can be used to generate signals and traffic that would appear just like a command post to an watching signals intelligence specialist. It marks the company’s move into a dedicated EW specialist, and builds upon Allen Vanguard’s pedigree in counter-IED and drone capabilities. Another Allen Vanguard product called NXT further expands this future vision. It is a signal processor designed to provide a small RF processor that can fit within the confines of modern vehicles and improve the ability of the receiver to differentiate between noise and signals of interest. So, Turmoil creates confusion and distracts and adversary, whilst NXT helps a friendly force to understand hostile signals. 

Calibre comment: New dog, old tricks 

Emissions control and decoys are not a new thing. Limiting the use of radios was widely acknowledged and practiced during the Cold War to limit NATO force exposure to Soviet EW. It was also common to deploy decoys for command posts, hoping to protect them from nuclear strikes. So, whilst Allen Vanguard’s Turmoil decoys are new, the capability gap they fill is less so. It is obviously a good thing that these products have been ordered and the skills are being practiced, but it is simultaneously a reminder of how much expertise needed to fight a peer adversary has faded in the past 30 years. 

By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on November 17th, 2025. The lead image shows soldiers from the UK’s 12 Armoured Brigade Combat Team operating at the Brigade Command Post, planning and executing orders under validation of 3 (UK) Division. Credit: Duncan Colin Campbell/UK MOD © Crown copyright 2024.