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Russia Is Attacking US Forces With Electronic Weapons In Syria, General Says (yahoo.com)
john of sparta shares a report from Yahoo: American forces in Syria are increasingly facing attacks from Russian and Syrian electronic warfare weapons, as Moscow uses the conflict to test its future arsenal. General Raymond Thomas, head of the U.S. Special Operations Command, said that Syria has become "the most aggressive electronic warfare environment on the planet," Breakingdefense.com reported. Speaking at a geospatial intelligence conference in Florida, Gen. Thomas said that Russian and Syrian regime forces "are testing us everyday, knocking our communications down, disabling our [EC-130 aircraft]."
The Lockheed Martin EC-130 Compass Call is one of America's most advanced electronic warfare weapons. Based on the C-130 Hercules, the plane was developed to disrupt enemy communications, radar and command operations. The craft's presence in Syrian skies gives Russia the chance to test its weapons against the best the U.S. has to offer, whether directly or through its Syrian allies. Earlier this month, four anonymous officials told NBC News that Russia has also been regularly targeting smaller U.S. surveillance drones. One of those quoted said Russian operations were having a significant impact on U.S. capabilities. The sophisticated attacks were even successful against encrypted signals and anti-jamming devices, the official said. Slashdot reader john of sparta adds, "Well, it's war; not a surprise..."
The Lockheed Martin EC-130 Compass Call is one of America's most advanced electronic warfare weapons. Based on the C-130 Hercules, the plane was developed to disrupt enemy communications, radar and command operations. The craft's presence in Syrian skies gives Russia the chance to test its weapons against the best the U.S. has to offer, whether directly or through its Syrian allies. Earlier this month, four anonymous officials told NBC News that Russia has also been regularly targeting smaller U.S. surveillance drones. One of those quoted said Russian operations were having a significant impact on U.S. capabilities. The sophisticated attacks were even successful against encrypted signals and anti-jamming devices, the official said. Slashdot reader john of sparta adds, "Well, it's war; not a surprise..."
The craft's presence in Syrian skies gives Russia the chance to test its weapons against the best the U.S. has to offer...
At the same time it also gives the US a sample of the best Russia can throw at them and the effect that has on US tactics which have relied on battlefield networking, large numbers of remote controlled drones and the apparent assumption that these communications will never be significantly disrupted or even completely disabled. Let's just hope that this lesson will be better heeded than those learned by the Americans who fought the Japanese in the run-up to WWII. Their reports were filed away or ignored by the Pentagon which ignored the threat because the reports contradicted their preconceptions about the Japanese.
How dare they interrupt our electronic weapons with their own electronic weapons!
If this is such a concern, I've got a strategy the US can use to combat this: Get the hell out of Syria.
It's ridiculous to be offended/upset that someone is using countermeasures against the drones being used against them or their allies.
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