Ukraine uses many types of primary weapons confirmed from the US such as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) launched from HIMARS rocket artillery and JDAM guided bombs.
Lieutenant General Antonio Aguto, commander of the Ukraine Security Support Group, said in December 2023 that electronic warfare targeting `some of America’s most precise weapons is challenging`.
Any measures to address the challenge of electronic warfare will not only benefit Ukraine, but also help the United States address concerns as it prepares for the risk of superpower conflict.
Mark Cancian, a former US Marine colonel working as a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said `the practice of spoofing GPS positioning signals is common in Ukraine, causing
Russian soldiers deployed the Borisoglebsk-2 jamming complex on the front towards Zaporizhzhia in November 2022.
Warring parties can use effective and inexpensive technology in electronic warfare.
Electronic warfare includes many inexpensive forms.
In addition, electronic warfare forces also have a form of signal spoofing, which means sending false data to the satellite positioning signal receiver on enemy weapons, causing them to deviate from their direction or trajectory.
Jamming is an easier method and can be done with inexpensive equipment and less trained technicians, while signal spoofing is used in specific situations such as hiding military locations from the enemy.
The use of navigation systems that do not rely on GPS signals, such as inertial navigation systems, can address the challenge posed by electronic warfare.
T-72 tanks fitted with jamming clusters to counter drones belonging to Russia’s Tsentr (Center) military wing on the front towards Avdeevka on March 28.
More and more members of the Russian armed forces are interested in using electronic warfare systems in combat, especially when they demonstrate high effectiveness in dealing with precision weapons that the US provides aid to Ukraine.
Western experts said the accuracy of guided bullets such as Excalibur fired from M777 howitzers and GMLRS rockets `dropped incredibly` because of jamming.
`Ammunitions like Excalibur and GMLRS rely on satellite positioning receivers to some degree to help accurately hit targets,` Withington explained.
Daniel Patt, a senior expert at the US-based Hudson Research Institute, said in a congressional hearing in March that the 155 mm Excalibur bullet `has a target hit rate of up to 70% when first deployed.`
Patt said the new weapons systems Ukraine received were `only at peak effectiveness for two weeks before countermeasures appeared`.
A US defense expert said the Russia-Ukraine conflict provides an opportunity for them to learn how precision weapons produced by this country `work against modern threats`.
Russia’s Krasukha-S4 electronic warfare complex at the battlefield in September 2023.
The US is synthesizing the intelligence information obtained.
Cancian said the Pentagon is looking for ways to overcome the threat of enemy electronic warfare, for example using narrower or stronger signal bands to neutralize jamming efforts.
`However, the threats remind us not to rely on things that are considered ‘game-changing,’` Cancian said.
Experts believe that the US should not completely eliminate precision weapons in case of a conflict with a power proficient in electronic warfare.
During the event in early May, Doug Bush, the US Army’s procurement official, affirmed that it was not surprising that Russia could jam the country’s weapons.
The US Air Force earlier this week signed a contract worth 23 million USD to buy a probe specialized in hunting GPS jamming complexes installed on precision guided bombs JDAM-ER.
According to Withington, the effort to adapt precision weapons to counter enemy electronic warfare activities is just one aspect of a multi-layered solution, which includes using other types of weapons and prioritizing targeting the source.
`This forces the US and its allies to realize that it is necessary to dominate electronic warfare in future conflicts. This will help them partly or even completely prevent the enemy from using electronic warfare systems.`
However, in parallel with the US and Ukraine adjusting to jamming capabilities, Russia will learn lessons and develop new electronic warfare techniques.
`The measures Ukraine is using to counter Russian electronic warfare are typical in conflicts,` Cancian said.