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How can Ukraine respond to Russia's electronic warfare?

2023-12-19 18:43:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

In the war against Ukraine, Russia may not have established military superiority on the ground, but it has been successful in electronic warfare. As VOA correspondent Mariia Prus reports, Moscow is now using new models of information technology to disable Ukrainian drones and Western high-precision weapons.

A video shows Ukrainian forces destroying a 'Pol-21' system that Russia uses in electronic warfare against Ukraine. The Russian system jams signals from navigation satellites, including the GPS global positioning system, which the Ukrainian military relies on to meet its goals of countering Russia's air fleet, missiles and artillery.

American military expert Philip Karber visited Ukraine in November and was on the front lines.

“The Russians have developed and are using a new electronic warfare system. And in at least part of the front line, it's about 40% effective. Basically the system gives false information about the location of the Russians. So the army is not hitting where the Russian troops are actually located", says Phillip Karber, President of the Potomac Foundation.

James Lewis of the Center for Strategic and International Studies says that the Soviet Union - and later Russia - has historically had good capabilities in electronic warfare.

“All the things you've heard about Russia are true. Their troops are poorly trained; are poorly equipped; they do not have good planning skills. However, for one element what you have heard does not hold. And it's electronic warfare. The Russians are strong in electronic warfare", says James Lewis.

Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute says Russia began using electronic warfare about six months after it attacked Ukraine.

“By blocking GPS, radio communications, the Russians are creating difficulties for the Ukrainian troops, so that the latter are not able to coordinate, because their radios sometimes do not work. And the greatest damage is done to the GPS system, because most of the Ukrainian weapons are remote-controlled," said Clark.

How can Ukraine respond to Russia's electronic warfare?

However, Ukraine is still learning how to use electronic warfare.

"Ukraine has used the same techniques very effectively against Russia, and they are building new systems to get better results," says Bryan Clark of the Hudson Institute.

Experts say the sanctions are forcing Russia to use its own technologies, while Ukraine has access to new private businesses, foreign companies and Western technologies.

According to a 2022 British study, in the first months of the war, through electronic warfare, Russia disabled about 90% of all Ukrainian drones and significantly interfered with aviation activity. And moreover, the Russian attack on Ukraine has turned the world's attention to electronic warfare.

"At least from a military point of view, there is an awareness that in this respect we should be able to fight and outmatch our adversaries, outmatch Russia", says James Lewis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

How can Ukraine respond to Russia's electronic warfare?

In recent aid packages for Ukraine, Western countries have supplied Ukraine with electronic warfare systems. However, experts advise Ukraine and NATO to invest more in developing electronic systems that can take down Russia's.

“It's a very dynamic situation where technology changes really fast, and I think the best thing that Ukraine and its partners can do is to continue to adapt, to continue to invest in identification, analyzing and then responding to Russian equipment,'' Mr. Lewis points out.

According to him, developments related to electronic warfare are closely followed, not only by NATO, but also by China./ VOA