The US uses Ukraine as a testing ground for electronic warfare.
(Baonghean.vn) - The Pentagon is "taking notes" on Russia and Ukraine's use of electronic warfare (EW), Defense News quoted US Army Commander Josh Kozlov as saying.
The comments from the commander of the US Army's 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing are significant amid ongoing tensions between the US and China. Kozlov's unit was established two years ago to spearhead US efforts to catch up with advanced electronic warfare. The US commander said of the conflict in Ukraine: "The agility that both sides have demonstrated in the way they conduct operations in the spectrum is fantastic... Both sides are playing a very, very good game of cat and mouse." He added: "For us, in the future, if we are going to face a peer opponent, agility and speed are the keys to success in the spectrum."
Military think tanks such as the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) believe that Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities are one of the main reasons why Ukrainian forces have failed to make any significant progress in the three-month summer offensive. On the battlefield, the Russian military disrupted Ukrainian communications and hindered the targeting of Western-supplied precision munitions. Electronic countermeasures also helped the Russian military prevent Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russian territory.
Ukraine’s leaders have touted their country as a testing ground for advanced Western weapons systems, arguing that manufacturers have a unique opportunity to test prototypes in real combat. Ben Wallace, then British defense secretary, called Ukraine a “battle laboratory” for the British military in a report to Parliament last July./.