Electronic warfare, another crucial front of the Russian offensive in Ukraine

On the battlefields of Ukraine, the simple act of turning on a cell phone can trigger a storm of bullets. Artillery radar and drone remotes can also attract enemy fire.

and the electronic warfare, a key but invisible aspect of Russia’s war against Ukraine. Military commanders mostly shy away from discussing it, fearing that they will jeopardize operations if they reveal secrets.

Electronic warfare technology attacks communication, navigation and guidance systems to locate, blind and deceive the enemy and deliver lethal blows.

It is used against artillery, fighter jets, cruise missiles, drones, and more. The military also uses it to protect their troops.

It is an area where Russia was thought to have a clear advantage in entering the war, but, for reasons not entirely clear, its vaunted electronic warfare capability only appeared in the early stages of the war in the chaotic failure of its own. offensive. capture kiev, the capital.

It has become a far more important factor in the current fierce battle for eastern Ukraine, where shorter and more easily defensible supply lines move electronic warfare equipment closer to battlefields.

communication attack

A Ukrainian intelligence official said the Russian threat is “very serious” in hindering the commanders’ reconnaissance efforts and communications with their troops. The Russian interference with GPS receivers in drones that Ukraine uses to locate the enemy and directing their artillery strikes is particularly intense “on the line of contact,” he said.

Ukraine has had some success in countering the Moscow electronic offensive. It captured important equipment, in a blow to Russian intelligence.

And destroyed at least two mobile multi-vehicle electronic warfare units.

Ukraine’s prowess in electronic warfare is difficult to gauge. Analysts say it has greatly improved since Russia conquered Crimea and instigated a separatist uprising in the country’s east in 2014.

Ukraine has also used US technology and intelligence effectively and other NATO members, who helped him, for example, sink the warship Moskva.

Allied satellites and reconnaissance aircraft are witnessing from nearby skies, as is Elon Musk’s Starlink communications satellite network.

how is the offense

Electronic warfare has three basic elements: tracking, attack, and protection. First, intelligence is gathered by locating enemy electronic signals. In attack, “white noise” interference disables and degrades enemy systems, including radio and cellular communications, air defense, and artillery radars. Also there is the spoofing, or identity theft, which confuses and deceives. When it works, ammo misses its targets.

“Operating in a modern data-less battlefield is really difficult,” said retired Colonel Laurie Buckhout, former chief of electronic warfare for the US military. Interference “can blind and deaf aircraft very quickly and dangerously, especially if you lose your GPS and radar and fly a fighter at 600mph (965kmh). “

all this explains the secret surrounding electronic warfare.

“It’s an extremely secret field because it relies heavily on evolving, cutting-edge technology where profits can be copied and wiped out very quickly,” said James Stidham, a communications security expert who has served as a consultant for national and state security departments. United States National.

Ukraine learned hard lessons about electronic warfare in 2014 and 2015, when Russia used it to overwhelm its own forces. The Russians shot down drones and disabled warheads, penetrated cellular networks for psychological operations and focused on Ukrainian defenses.

A Ukrainian official told Christian Brose, an aide to late Senator John McCain, how Russian data warriors tricked a commander into answering a phone call from his mother. When he did it, they geolocated him and killed him with precision rocketsBrose wrote in the book “The Kill Chain”.

In the current conflict, electronic warfare has become a raging theater of contention.

Russia blocked GPS in areas from Finland to the Black Sea. As a result, a Finnish regional airline had to cancel flights on one route for a week.

Russian interference has also affected television broadcasts in Ukraine, said Frank Backes, an executive of the California-based Kratos Defense group, which has satellite ground stations in the region.

Difficulties

But in the early days of the invasion, Russia’s use of electronic warfare was less effective and extensive than expected. This may have contributed to his inability to destroy a sufficient number of radar and anti-aircraft units to achieve superiority in the air. Some analysts believe that Russian commanders refrained from advancing electronic warfare units for fear of being captured. At least two were.

Additionally, Russian commanders may have initially limited the use of electronic warfare in the conflict due to fears that untrained and unmotivated technicians could malfunction the systems.

“What we know now is that the Russians eventually shut down the systems because they interfered too much with their own communications,” said retired Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, a former US Army commander in Europe.

The problems were obvious. many Russian soldiers spoke on unprotected radio channels, easily monitored by outside elements.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not answer questions for this article.

The extent of the benefit its electronic systems offer is now unclear. Ukrainian forces are now more concentrated, which may make them easier to attack.

Much depends on whether the Russian tactical battalions “are actually configured as they are in theory,” said James Rands of Jane’s military intelligence think tank. Each group must have an electronic warfare unit. The Pentagon says 110 groups are in Ukraine.

The Kremlin claims to have more than 1,000 small unmanned vehicles Orlan-10 which he uses for reconnaissance, attack targeting, cell blocking and interception.

The US and Britain are supplying Ukraine with jamming equipment, although it is unclear how much they help. Neither country has provided details.

Musk’s Starlink Network is a proven value. Its more than 2,200 low-orbit satellites provide broadband Internet to more than 150,000 ground stations in Ukraine.

Cutting these links is difficult for Russia, and it is much more difficult to interfere with satellites in low orbit than with geostationary satellites.

Source: AP

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