(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — The highly accurate artillery system manufactured by the United States, the 155mm M982 Excalibur, supplied to the Ukrainian military, is reported to have failed to precisely target its objectives after being “jammed” by the Russian radio-electronic warfare system, “Polye-21.”
According to a Forbes report, the Russian radio-electronic warfare system disrupted the Global Positioning System (GPS) of the artillery system, causing its projectiles to miss their targets.
In April, Western media reported that the U.S. military had provided approximately 3,000 high-precision “Excalibur” artillery shells to the Ukrainian forces for use against Russian targets.
The Ukrainian military acknowledged the precision of the “Excalibur” artillery shells in targeting Russian military assets and requested additional supplies of these precision munitions.
However, what concerns the United States is the cost of each “Excalibur” artillery shell, reaching up to US$100,000 (RM450,000), compared to only US$3,000 (RM13,500) for an unguided 155mm artillery shell.
A military analyst stated that the Ukraine-Russia conflict has highlighted the technological advancements in weaponry on both sides, especially Russia, which has successfully altered the dynamics on the battlefield.
In a report released by British authorities in May, the Russian electronic warfare system rendered approximately 10,000 drones used by the Ukrainian military inoperable.
Another report by the Royal United Services Institute highlighted that strategically, the Russian military positioned their electronic warfare systems 10km along the 1,200km border with Ukraine during this conflict.
The Russian electronic warfare systems were responsible for “shooting down” the Ukrainian drones.
The success of Russia’s electronic warfare systems in disrupting the GPS of U.S. smart weapons and bombs is not new, as senior Pentagon officials have acknowledged.
A classified report from the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) disclosed to the public in April expressed concerns about the failure of smart bombs supplied to the Ukrainian military in destroying Russian targets.
Pentagon officials confirmed to the national media that the smart bombs provided by Washington to the Ukrainian military failed to hit their targets due to interference from the Russian military’s electronic warfare (EW) system.
The Russian electronic warfare system interfered with the GPS signals used by smart bombs, resulting in their failure to hit their targets.
The United States supplied smart bombs, including JDAM-ER (Joint Direct Attack Munitions-Extended Range) bombs, to the Ukrainian military to enable them to attack Russian targets more accurately from a greater distance.
The recently disclosed Pentagon classified report from last week provided an example of how Ukrainian fighter jets dropped nine JDAM-ER smart bombs, but four of them failed to reach their targets after the GPS signals of the bombs were “jammed” by the Russian military’s electronic warfare system.
The report stated that the success rate of these smart bombs hitting their targets was significantly lower than expected, demonstrating the high impact of the Russian military’s electronic warfare system on the effectiveness of the smart bombs supplied by the United States.
In addition to smart bombs such as JDAM and JDAM-ER, the Russian military’s electronic warfare system has also caused GPS-equipped smart rockets launched by the HIMARS system supplied to the Ukrainian military to malfunction.
It cannot be denied that the Russian military possesses some of the most capable electronic warfare systems globally, along with experienced personnel to operate them.
Media reports indeed confirm that the Russian military is actively seeking to disrupt GPS systems used by its adversaries as part of its military campaign in Ukraine.
Ukrainian military officials revealed that the interference from the Russian electronic warfare system is particularly strong in the eastern and some southern parts of Ukraine.
Ukraine also claims that its drones, used to monitor Russian military targets, including artillery systems, have been heavily disrupted by the Russian military’s electronic warfare system. — DSA
DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA APPS
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