Increasing Number of US Smart Weapons Fail Due to Russian EW Systems in Ukraine

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — Increasing evidence indicates that the smart weapons provided by the United States to Ukraine have been malfunctioning due to electronic warfare disruptions caused by Russia.

This was confirmed by a senior Pentagon official who stated that Russia’s electronic warfare systems caused the malfunction of the advanced Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), which did not perform as expected when deployed by Ukraine against Russian targets.

Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s Acquisition Chief, mentioned that due to the Russian electronic warfare systems, the GLSDB bombs failed to hit their targets accurately when launched by Ukraine to strike at Russian positions.

“When you send something that will be used in their life-or-death conflict but it fails to work, then they (the Ukrainian forces) will discard it,” LaPlante explained.

Boeing, the developer of the weapon system, simply stated that it would cooperate with the Pentagon to further enhance the performance of this sophisticated American weaponry, which has become yet another advanced armament compromised by Russian electronic warfare.

 

The GLSDB, capable of striking targets up to 144km away—double the range of the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) supplied to Ukraine—began to be used by Ukraine in February 2023 after approval was granted in February of the same year.

 Each GLSDB unit, which relies on the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation Systems for targeting, is valued at approximately $40,000 (RM190,000).

However, the GLSDB is not the first advanced Western GPS-based weapon system to fall victim to Russian electronic warfare.

 In a statement to the United States Congress last March, it was revealed that the effectiveness of the GPS-guided “Excalibur” artillery shells had decreased from 70 percent to merely six percent within a few months of their introduction in Ukraine, due to Russian electronic warfare.

According to Western media reports from last April, the US military had supplied about 3,000 high-precision “Excalibur” artillery shells to the Ukrainian forces to target Russian positions, with each shell valued at $100,000 (RM450,000).

 

 Additionally, CNN reported that the Russian electronic warfare systems had also caused the GMLRS weapon systems supplied by the United States to miss their intended targets significantly.

A GMLRS guided missile is estimated to cost $160,000 (RM758,000).

Furthermore, reports from Ukrainian forces and American officials also stated that the Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM) supplied to Kiev experienced significant targeting problems when confronted with Russian electronic warfare.

A military analyst noted that the Ukraine-Russia conflict has highlighted the advancements in weaponry technology on both sides, especially Russia’s success in altering the dynamics on the battlefield.

A report issued by the British in May last year indicated that Russian electronic warfare systems had caused approximately 10,000 drones used by the Ukrainian military to malfunction.

 

According to another report by the Royal United Services Institute, Russian forces strategically positioned their electronic warfare systems along a 1,200km stretch of their border with Ukraine, effectively “shooting down” Ukrainian drones.

A secret Pentagon report, revealed to the public last April, expressed concerns about the failure of smart bombs supplied to the Ukrainian military to destroy Russian military targets.

 Pentagon officials confirmed to their national media that the smart bombs provided by Washington to the Ukrainian forces had failed to hit their targets due to being “jammed” by Russian electronic warfare.

The report highlighted that the accuracy rate of these smart bombs was significantly lower than expected, demonstrating the profound impact of Russian electronic warfare on the effectiveness of the smart bombs supplied by the United States. — DSA