US using Ukraine as electronic warfare testing ground – Defense News
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Western media called Russian countermeasures a major factor behind Kiev’s battlefield failures
The Pentagon is “taking notes” on the use of electronic warfare (EW) by Russia and Ukraine as it prepares for a possible face-off with China, the military-focused outlet Defense News has reported.
The article, published on Wednesday, covered the recent discussion at the Air, Space, and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Maryland. The event featured Josh Koslov, the leader of the 350th Spectrum Warfare Wing, which was created two years ago to spearhead the country’s attempt to catch up in advanced electronic warfare.
“The agility being displayed by both parties, in the way that they’re executing operations in the spectrum, is awesome,” the US military commander said of the Ukraine conflict. “Both sides are doing the cat-and-mouse game very, very well.”
“In the future, for us, if we do confront a peer, being agile and being rapid is the key to success in the spectrum,” he added.
Military expert organizations like the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) cite Russian EW capabilities as one of the key reasons Ukrainian forces have failed to make any tangible progress during the three months of its summer counteroffensive.
On the battlefield, Russian troops interfere with Ukrainian communications, mess up targeting of Western-provided precision munitions, and identify targets for strikes through signal intelligence. Electronic countermeasures also help the Russian military thwart Ukrainian drone attacks inside Russia.
The Ukrainian leadership has touted their nation as a testing range for advanced Western weapons systems, arguing that their manufacturers have a unique opportunity for real combat trials of their prototypes.
Ben Wallace, then-Secretary of Defence of the UK, called Ukraine a “battle lab” for the British military during a report to the parliament in July.
