GEOINT: The Compass Call is supposed to live on i of America’s inaugural off electronic warfare weapons, but the EC-130s flight close Syrian Arab Republic are beingness attacked together with disabled “in the most aggressive EW surround on the planet,” the caput of Special Operations Command said hither today. “Right immediately inward Syria nosotros are operating inward the most aggressive EW surround on the planet from our adversaries. They are testing us everyday, knocking our communications down, disabling our EC-130s, etcetera,” Gen. Raymond Thomas told an audience of only about 2,000 intelligence professionals.
UPDATE I listened to Thomas together with had 2 people head to my recording earlier posting my story. All 3 of us concluded he said EC-130. The video posted afterwards past times the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF) leaves me shaking my head. He may direct maintain said AC-130, which, given he’s SOCOM, may brand to a greater extent than feel since the AC-130 is a unique SOCOM weapon. I’m non certain that makes much divergence since, spell the AC-130 may non live on a dedicated EW weapon, nosotros know the aircraft is designed to function inward real hostile environments together with possesses sophisticated EW equipment. An EW officeholder is a regular crew fellow member on the AC-130U. So, the basic indicate most these EW-capable aircraft beingness jammed stay valid, regardless of whether he is proverb Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 or E. Of course, nosotros presume the Compass Call remains the to a greater extent than capable EW platform. UPDATE ENDS
While, for obvious reasons, nosotros don’t know many details most the nature of the attacks on the EC-130s, nosotros exercise know the Russians direct maintain done what i EW proficient called a “good job” inward several recent conflicts using EW. And the Russians are inward forcefulness inward Syrian Arab Republic together with render most of the gear used past times the Syrian military.
“The Russians direct maintain redone together with reengineered their entire EW fleet inward the final twenty years,” notes Laurie Moe Buckhout, a retired Army colonel who specializes inward EW. After the Russians attacked Georgia, they concluded they needed to upgrade their EW capabilities, she says. “The Russians pose inward millions on upgrades after Georgia. They’ve ended upwards amongst killer capabilities, jamming inward a multitude of frequencies for hundreds of kilometers.”
She too notes that the Russians may non direct maintain gone caput to caput against the EC-130s EW laid on capabilities. They may direct maintain taken the much easier road of interfering amongst the Position, Navigation together with Timing (PNT) or their communications gear, making it to a greater extent than hard to wing the aircraft since crews would direct maintain had to rely on maps, describe of sight together with other techniques.
“The work the EC-130s direct maintain is that, spell they are jamming, the crews aren’t doing much else,” making them to a greater extent than vulnerable to attacks, she says. “They could direct maintain gone after the PNT or the comms.” The Russians “know all of our vulnerabilities.”
There are other problems U.S. forces must teach by with, says Loren Thompson, a good known defense forcefulness consultant: “We’ve spent then much fourth dimension fighting enemies inward Western Asia who were technically unsophisticated that nosotros are not upwards to speed on tactical electronic warfare.” Buckhout said Thompson has a point.
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