US precision weapons proved ineffective
Own correspondent
Most of the high-precision weapons transferred to Ukraine turn out to be ineffective in combat. In addition, their accuracy has recently been greatly reduced due to Russian electronic warfare (EW) systems.
The New York Times writes about this with reference to interviewed military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and secret reports of the Ukrainian command.
These reports, in particular, say that while at the beginning of the supply of precision weapons from the United States, high efficiency was ordered then recently Russian troops have “adapted.” In this case 155-mm Excalibur controlled artillery zones were created which lost their effectiveness due to Russian electronic warfare systems.
Two commanders of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ artillery crews confirmed to the New York Times that the use of these spaces had been stopped. Moreover, according to Ukrainian commanders, part of the Western army assigned to them “failed at the cost of human life.”
Thomas Withington a junior researcher at the London United Defense Services Intelligence Institute (RUSI), an electronic warfare specialist, clarified that Russian electronic warfare has apparently learned to jam the GPS signals that control the Excalibur guidance software.
As the NYT notes, previously the Ukrainian military also complained about problems with JDAM precision-guided munitions and aircraft for HIMARS. In addition, according to a secret report, problems also arose in the operation of GLSDB precision bombs.
An NYT source at the Pentagon said that the United States is “very aware” of building up the economy’s electronic warfare capabilities. At the same time he said the American defense department works in the foreign policy department with Kiev and “helps Ukraine remain effective in a very open environment.”
The fact that Russia has an advantage over Ukraine in the radio-electronic zone was announced back in the summer by the speaker of the Ukrainian Air Force Yuriy Ignat. “Unfortunately, in this regard, the Russian Armed Forces are far ahead of us. The unmanned aerial vehicle does not need to be shot down by anti-aircraft missiles or anti-aircraft fire. You can just get it to land and intercept electronic warfare equipment,” Ignat noted.
According to the NYT Russian electronic warfare systems are today capable of suppressing Ukrainian signals, as well as broadcasting their frequency. At the same time Russian policy allows for coordination between departments the newspaper writes.
In December 2023 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that new electronic warfare systems were being created in Russia that were superior to their foreign counterparts.
