Russian jamming leaves some high-tech U.S. weapons (even more) ineffective in Ukraine – Washington Post

by | May 24, 2024 | Blog

Image: HiMARS System – Shutterstock

What’s New: An exclusive Washington Post report that Russian jamming is impacting U.S.-provided weapons much more than previously reported.

Why It’s Important: 

  • Ukraine is suffering more in the conflict because it relied on U.S. provided, GPS-enabled, weapons.
  • U.S. global prestige is suffering. Russia seems to be easily defeating our “best stuff.” Per the article, China and Iran are undoubtedly taking note. We are sure many of our allies are as well. – In a world of great power competition, this really matters.
  • The presumption that GPS-enabled weapons would be more effective led to fewer weapons and less ammunition being produced and available. This has contributed to an overall shortage in the ability to resupply and arm Ukraine.

What Else to Know:

  • DOD officials claim the U.S. would have less of a problem in a conflict because we have superior electronic warfare capability than Ukraine. Presumably we would be able to target Russian jammers and destroy them… We wonder how many jammers Russia has and how many jammer-killing missiles the U.S. has…We also wonder why Ukraine hasn’t been supplied such weapons…
  • There is no central office in DOD looking at PNT issues. The CIO acts as the Principal Staff Assistant for the Secretary, but really is only has a couple folks responsible for being a secretariate to a lot of councils and committees that discuss PNT.  There are lots of projects on-going in the services, at labs, etcetera. But we don’t know of anything like a Joint Program Office, or even an internal newsletter, that connects or coordinates the various efforts to get the best outcome for DOD or America.
  • FREE EVENT FOR GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES AND CONGRESSIONAL STAFF:

The Defense Strategies Institute’s “Assured PNT Summit” for 2024 is May 29th & 30th in Washington, D.C. 

Registration is still open, walk-ins welcome.

Click above or visit pnt.dsi.org

RNT Foundation President Dana A. Goward will moderate the two day event.

 

Russian jamming leaves some high-tech U.S. weapons ineffective in Ukraine

Confidential Ukrainian assessments obtained by The Washington Post show how accuracy rates of some Western weapons fell after Russian jamming disrupted guidance systems.

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May 24, 2024 at 10:57 a.m. EDT
KYIV — Many U.S.-made satellite-guided ammunitions in Ukraine have failed to withstand Russian jamming technology, prompting Kyiv to stop using certain types of Western-provided armaments after effectiveness rates plummeted, according to senior Ukrainian military officials and confidential internal Ukrainian assessments obtained by The Washington Post.

Russia’s jamming of the guidance systems of modern Western weapons, including Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS, which can fire some U.S.-made rockets with a range of up to 50 miles, has eroded Ukraine’s ability to defend its territory and has left officials in Kyiv urgently seeking help from the Pentagon to obtain upgrades from arms manufacturers.

Russia’s ability to combat the high-tech munitions has far-reaching implications for Ukraine and its Western supporters — potentially providing a blueprint for adversaries such as China and Iran — and it is a key reason Moscow’s forces have regained the initiative and are advancing on the battlefield.

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