Russia jamming GPS signals renders some US weaponry ineffective in Ukraine - WP

Photo: Ukrainian military (Getty Images)

Many American munitions with satellite guidance in Ukraine couldn't withstand Russian GPS jamming technologies. This forced the Ukrainian Armed Forces to cease the use of certain types of Western weaponry after their effectiveness sharply declined, according to The Washington Post.

According to senior Ukrainian military officials, the obstacles created by Russia to the targeting systems of modern Western weapons, including GPS-guided artillery shells like Excalibur and the artillery rocket system HIMARS, have undermined Ukraine's ability to defend its territory.

The success rate of US-developed Excalibur shells, for example, sharply declined over several months to less than 10 percent of target hits.

Documents obtained by The Washington Post include previously unknown details about the extent to which Russian jamming interfered with Western weapons.

"The Excalibur technology in existing versions has lost its potential," the assessments state.

It is also noted that combat experience in Ukraine has debunked the reputation of Excalibur as "one shot, one target" weaponry, at least until the Pentagon and American manufacturers address this issue.

According to Ukrainian officials, six months ago, after Ukrainians reported the problem, Washington simply halted the supply of Excalibur shells due to a high percentage of failures.

The Ukrainian military command prepared reports from autumn 2023 to April 2024 and handed them to the United States, hoping to develop a solution and establish direct contact with weapon manufacturers. In interviews, Ukrainian officials described a bureaucratic process that, in their view, complicated the path to urgently needed adjustments to improve faulty weaponry.

As noted by a senior official at the US Department of Defense, the Pentagon anticipated that some precision munitions would be targeted by Russian electronic warfare and worked with Ukraine to refine tactics and methods.

"Russia has continued to expand their use of electronic warfare. And we continue to evolve and make sure that Ukraine has the capabilities they need to be effective," he said.

Earlier, we reported that Russia is jamming GPS signals for aircraft over the Baltic region.

Later, the Ministry of Defense of Germany stated that Russia is involved in disruptions to GPS in the Baltic countries.

Estonia also accused Russia of jamming GPS in the Baltic Sea region.