(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — A United States general has acknowledged that the “tactical advantages” of various high-precision weaponry manufactured by the country and deployed in Ukraine have significantly diminished due to jamming actions by the Russian military.
Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto was quoted as saying that the jamming activities conducted by the Russian military present a major challenge faced by the United States.
Since December 2022 Gen. Aguto has led the “Security Assistance Group-Ukraine,” an organization responsible for coordinating military assistance to Ukraine.
Prior to that, unidentified U.S. military officials informing CNN that Russia has been jamming high-precision U.S. weaponry systems, resulting in inaccurate target hits but efforts were made to adapt the rocket launchers to counteract the jamming.
However, Russian forces also responded by modifying their jamming systems.
Among the U.S. weapon systems affected by Russian jamming actions is the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), supplied to the Ukrainian military.
Additionally, reports from U.S. military sources reveal that Russia has employed jamming against bombs guided by GPS systems supplied by the U.S. to Ukraine.
According to U.S. military officials, Russia has deployed sophisticated jamming capabilities to the front lines, including jamming systems capable of disrupting GPS signals up to 24 km away.
Ukrainian forces have also reported instances of their drones being victims of Russian jamming, potentially causing issues for the Starlink system they rely on.
Gen. Aguto emphasized that the U.S. Department of Defense needs to enhance both weapons and defense equipment to be more resilient and flexible in addressing the actions taken by their adversaries.
He stated, “Within a few weeks or months of deploying something on the front lines, our adversaries will find a way to disrupt or counter those capabilities.”
A prominent United Kingdom think tank, the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) asserted that Russian jamming actions have been so effective that Ukraine, the United States, and NATO cannot guarantee the precise targeting of advanced weapons such as JDAM and HIMARS.
“Jamming doesn’t render JDAM unusable, but it increases the risk of smart weapons not hitting their targets accurately,” noted RUSI researcher Thomas Withington.
While anti-jamming measures can address the issue, the electronic warfare systems of Russia have the capability to “overwhelm” GPS signals from satellites, according to the think tank’s study.
In fact, the United States issued warnings about the jamming capabilities of Russian electronic warfare systems in a leaked document last April, addressing the decline in the accuracy of the country’s “smart” weapons, including JDAM and HIMARS.
Initially providing hope to Ukraine by reducing Russia’s numerical and armament superiority, precision-guided “smart” weapons using GPS ultimately lost their advantage.
Last summer, weapons like HIMARS, supplied to the Ukrainian military, proved highly effective in disrupting Russian defense lines, enabling the recapture of several major cities.
However, Ukraine’s advantage was short-lived as Russia made adjustments and adapted, leading to the loss of that edge.
“It’s no longer a secret that the Russian military, much like the Soviet Union did spend considerable time, effort, and resources developing various electronic warfare systems,” noted the RUSI researcher. — DSA
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