US aircraft in Syria paralyzed by Russian electronic warfare capabilities

A US military EC-130H. Photo: Airliners

"We are currently operating in the most powerful electronic warfare (EW) environment deployed by our adversaries. They test us daily, suppress our information systems and paralyze our EC-130 aircraft," Breaking Defense quoted a statement by General Raymond Thomas, commander of the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) on April 24.

General Thomas said that although the purpose of the attack on the EC-130 aircraft is not yet clear, the Pentagon has information that the Russian military has performed very well in EW operations in many recent conflicts in Syria.

"Russia has completely restructured its EW capabilities over the past 20 years. They have invested millions of dollars to upgrade their EW systems. They can now attack, jam, and suppress a wide range of waves from hundreds of kilometers away," said retired US Army EW expert Colonel Laurie Moe Buckhout.

According to Ms. Buckhout, Russia may not directly attack the EC-130's EW capabilities, but instead choose to interfere with the positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) system, or communications equipment, making it difficult to control the aircraft. "The problem with the EC-130 is that when it is jammed, the crew cannot do anything else, making it more vulnerable to attack. Russia has grasped our weaknesses," Ms. Buckhout emphasized.

The EC-130 is a reconnaissance and signal jamming aircraft, used in electronic attack campaigns, supporting US fighter and ground forces. Their main mission is to search and jam the entire enemy communication system, limiting the ability to command and control forces in combat. In addition, the EC-130H can also block the control signals of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), forcing them to land or crash.

The US Air Force currently has a fleet of 14 EC-130s, four of which are participating in the campaign against the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS) in the Middle East.