Russian electronic warfare has rendered some US-made precision-guided weapons ineffective on the battlefield in Ukraine, causing Ukrainian forces to stop using certain munitions altogether, The New York Times reported on Saturday.
One weapon that Ukrainian forces stopped using due to Russian jamming was the Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells. According to an internal Ukrainian military report, the Excalibur shells were very successful at hitting targets when the US first sent them in 2022, but the success rate dropped as low as about 5% as its GPS system is very susceptible to Russian electronic warfare.
The Washington Post reported that Ukraine reported the problem to the US and that Washington responded by ending the supply of Excalibur shells to Ukraine. Several other US weapons suffered a similar fate on the battlefield in Ukraine, with success at first and failure once Russia adapted.
When the US first sent the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) to Ukraine in 2022, it was touted as a game changer in the war. The HIMARS were armed with GPS-guided missiles with a range of 50 miles, and by the second year of their use in Ukraine, a Ukrainian official said, “Everything ended: the Russians deployed electronic warfare, disabled satellite signals, and HIMARS became completely ineffective.”
The US recently began providing Ukraine with Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of about 190 miles and can be fired from the HIMARS. Ukraine has had some success with them so far, but the Ukrainian military expects Russia to be able to jam the ATACMS soon.
Another munition Ukraine has stopped deploying due to Russian jamming is the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bombs, or GLSDB, a precision-guided Boeing-made munition with a range of about 94 miles.
Ukraine has also had trouble with Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS), precision-guided bombs dropped from aircraft. According to the Post, the weapons manufacturer provided Ukraine with a patch, and JDAMS became more effective, at least for the time being.
The news of Russia’s success countering US-made weapons comes amid a push to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with US-provided missiles, which would risk a major response from Moscow. Ukraine is facing an advancing Russian army across the front, including in Kharkiv, where Russia recently launched a new offensive.
As Russia just had tactical nuke exercises, undoubtedly NATO (i.e., the US) will shortly undertake the same as current weapons prove futile. Rather than negotiate, the “West” has dug in its heels, wiping big crocodile tears from its eyes as the victim, it believes (delusionally) that it is a valiant little Britain fighting the Nazis and would rather go done to the last person…which means ultimately us…you, me.
The only thing better than frying NATO troops is frying obama and Joey Biden!
Russia is also jamming Ukrainian army communication by disabling Mr. Muskuito provided Starlink satellite devices…!