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Russian interference rendered the U.S.-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers “totally disabled.”
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The Washington Post has seen Ukraine's classified weapons assessment.
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The interference has also affected Musk's Starlink, causing serious communications outages in Ukraine.
A new report says the US-supplied HIMARS rocket launchers have been “completely disabled” by a Russian electronic jamming system.
A classified Ukrainian weapons assessment seen by The Washington Post said targeting issues have forced Ukraine to halt or scale back use of many U.S.-supplied weapons.
The report mentions weapons such as the Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shell and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).
“Existing Excalibur technology has outlived its potential,” the assessment noted. Its use on the Ukrainian battlefield has negated its reputation as a “one-shot, one-target” weapon.
The HIMARS system, which can fire rockets up to 50 miles, was hailed as a lifeline for Ukraine early in the war but now poses a much lessened threat on the battlefield, Ukrainian military sources told The Post.
“Russia has deployed electronic warfare equipment and disabled satellite signals, rendering HIMARS completely ineffective,” a source told the Post, which assessed that Russian jamming could cause the missiles to miss their target by more than 50 feet.
Reports emerged earlier this week that US-supplied glide bombs were also continually missing their targets due to Russian jamming.
Other systems, such as the UK's Storm Shadow missile and the US Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), are much less susceptible to Russian jamming.
Jamming is an extremely cheap tactic, as the software is relatively inexpensive and can destroy tens of thousands of dollars worth of weapons, Defense One reported.
Russia's jamming systems operate from the ground, casting “cones” that prevent weapons from communicating with satellites that then guide the missiles to their targets.
Russia “continues to expand its use of electronic warfare,” a senior U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post. “We are continuing to evolve and ensure Ukraine has the capabilities it needs to operate effectively.”
But earlier this month, Mike Nagata, a retired U.S. Army lieutenant general who commanded special operations in the Middle East, said America's electronic warfare capabilities “still lag behind.” Defense One reported.
“The gap between where America wants to be and where we are continues to widen, in my view, not everywhere, but in too many places,” Nagata said at the Special Operations Week conference in Tampa, Fla. He called for the U.S. to get more creative in regaining dominance in electronic warfare.
Russian jamming technology Elon Musk's Starlink service In Ukraine.
Since the start of the war, the Ukrainian military SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service Communicate and coordinate attacks.
However, earlier this month, Russian forces reportedly managed to disrupt Starlink, causing serious problems for Ukraine's frontline troops. The New York Times.
Members of Ukraine's 92nd Assault Brigade said Starlink communications had slowed significantly after Russian forces launched a major offensive across the northern border in the direction of Kharkiv.
“The day before the attack, we suddenly lost power,” a soldier known by the call sign “Ajax” told the outlet. “It became extremely slow.”
“We are losing the electronic warfare battle,” Ajax said.
Read the original article on Business Insider
