In early March it was reported that the Ukrainian military had begun using the JDAM ER bombs provided by the U.S. Russian media sources claimed that these bombs were used against Russian held positions in the Bakman region, however, the latest intelligence report indicates that the effectiveness of these U.S. smart bombs has been diminished by Russian electronic warfare attacks.
This has led to concerns that the U.S. may not have sufficiently advanced technology to counter these attacks. from recent strike explores the reasons behind the JDAM ER bomb failures on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The document cites two possible explanations for the bomb’s malfunction: firstly, the fuses on the bonds are not being armed correctly, although the Ukrainian Air Force has reportedly addressed this issue.
Second, there have been problems with GPS signals, possibly due to Russian jamming efforts, which have caused some of the bombs to miss their targets. The leaked document also highlights that the GPS signal issues have impacted the performance of Ukraine’s guided multiple-launch rocket systems in a similar way.
However, the director of the Joint navigation Warfare Centre has reportedly stated that based on their analysis, GPS jamming should not have affected the JDamdr strikes in relation to the location of the targets in comparison to active Russian jammers.
According to reports, the Ukrainian Air Force had dropped at least nine ER bombs on Russian targets by the time the leaked document was published, but it appears that four of them missed their targets due to Russian jamming efforts.
The intelligence assessment’s confidence level was said to be medium to high, and the document recommends that the Russian jammers be neutralised before using the JDAM ERS to achieve the best results in precision strikes.
It is worth noting that the JDM kit relies on a GPS-assisted inertial navigation system, or “INS,” meaning that the “INS” part of the bomb must ensure that accuracy is maintained to a significant degree even if the GPS signal is jammed or lost.
The leaked documents also brought attention to Ukraine’s vulnerabilities in their air defences and cast doubt on their ability to reclaim substantial territory this spring. As a result, the Pentagon is currently investigating the authenticity of the documents and whether any of the records have been tampered with.
Despite this, it is a known fact that Russia has sophisticated electronic warfare technology and expert operators to use it. They have been using this technology to disrupt signals from the US GPS in their military activities in Ukraine.
In June last year, a Ukrainian intelligence official revealed that the Russian jamming of GPS receivers on drones used by Ukrainian forces to find the enemy and direct artillery fire is particularly severe in specific areas of Ukraine.
Additionally, Russian troops have managed to jam the radar communications of Ukrainian drones, resulting in their inability to identify Russian Artillery batteries. Experts in Western countries themselves have recognised Russia’s capability to disrupt GPS signals, providing examples of precise GPS jamming in Northern Norway from distant locations across the border without affecting the adjacent frequency band of Russia’s global satellite navigation system. That’s all for today, thanks for reading.
