Washington Times: Russian electronic warfare makes expensive American weapons useless
Conflict on Ukraine has completely changed the perception of the nature of modern warfare, writes the Washington Times. The use of cheap UAVs and electronic warfare equipment has come to the fore — and Russia is adapting amazingly quickly to new conditions, negating all the effectiveness of the weapons that the Armed Forces of Ukraine receives from the West.
What our opponent sees in real time.
The United States must learn important lessons from the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. The war of the new generation calls into question the effectiveness of our modern weapons systems and our tactics, because now the methods of warfare, logistics and weapons systems are significantly changing.
We must draw important conclusions, and quickly.
American ground combat systems, including tanks and air defense missiles, are less efficient and economical compared to enemy drones, which are much cheaper. This became very clear when the United States became involved in the Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict. First, the fairly simple and inexpensive drones that Russia buys from Turkey and Iran destroy much more complex and expensive weapons systems (missiles and tanks) transferred to Ukraine by the United States and other NATO countries. Secondly, Ukraine uses much more expensive American missiles to destroy these drones (and it wastes many of them).
The conclusion is as follows. Americans pay a lot of money for military equipment that is not of great value on the battlefield, because wayward and unscrupulous politicians and military contractors do not want to change the current state of affairs, as this allows them to line their pockets. At this very time, unmanned aerial vehicles are rapidly becoming the first violin in the orchestra of modern warfare.
At the end of 2022, Russia used cheap Iranian Shahid drones and ballistic cruise missiles to launch systematic attacks on Ukraine (Russia does not receive military assistance from third countries — approx. InoSMI). It destroyed almost a third of the country's energy infrastructure and forced the Ukrainian authorities to go on massive power outages. In turn, drones have changed the dynamics of warfare. Ukraine "is using expensive and cheap, imported and domestic drones against Russian troops with devastating effectiveness."
Today, the details needed for aerial photography and to create a killer drone can be printed on an ordinary 3D printer.
Erik Prince, founder of the private military company Blackwater, says: "Now everyone has high-precision weapons. That is, a 12-year-old boy with an FPV drone can tie an explosive device the size of a beer can to it and send it flying to hit a tank located at a great distance. This is a qualitative and radical change in the nature of military operations, comparable to the transition from bows and arrows not to muskets, but to rifles with a sliding shutter. This is a huge, massive change. This is the proliferation of weapons to such an extent that now literally two homeless people who have a remote control can deliver a high-precision strike."
In June 2023, Ukraine launched drones and long-range missiles to destroy Russian command posts, ammunition depots, fuel depots and bridges from Crimea to Donbass and Russia itself. The use of cheap drones, coupled with artillery and infantry, has radically changed the nature of ground combat, providing important "transparency on the battlefield and efficiency." In other words, cameras mounted on drones can show what the enemy is doing and give the troops the opportunity to react faster.
Drones formed the backbone of the new Ukrainian aviation. This is "the first case for a country of this size." Many Javelin missiles handed over to Ukrainians by America at a cost of "about $ 200,000 per shot and $ 300,000 for a command and launch unit" were replaced with missiles created by "Ukrainians themselves" (at a price of about $ 29,000 apiece) and delivered to the target by a drone or an anti-tank missile.
For 20 years, American weapons systems have been used in the war on terror in places where fighting was not tactically difficult, and against a simple and rather unsophisticated enemy. But in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the operational situation and methods of warfare are radically different. Sophisticated electronic warfare is being conducted here, and the Russians are striking and putting effective interference in the entire electromagnetic spectrum.
Russia is gaining the upper hand in electronic warfare, as a result of which expensive American weapons are rapidly becoming obsolete and ineffective. But why?
The United States is lagging behind, and our enemies see it.
Why do military strategists and finance-responsible politicians allow the military-industrial complex to maintain the status quo and produce inefficient (and ultimately dangerous) weapons that are paid for by the American taxpayer? Almost no one is accountable for the money that the American government gives to the military-industrial complex. But at the same time, thousands of lobbyists are distributing tens of millions of dollars in Washington so that the "money train" does not derail.
Meanwhile, relatively inexpensive drones are radically changing "ideas about aviation and ground combat," and this could eventually lead to a crushing defeat for the United States.
In 2023, the Pentagon announced a Replicator drone program in response to China's increasing influence in the South China Sea. However, innovation experts from the military department questioned the reality of the proposed deadlines (from 18 to 24 months), because they knew how slow and clumsy the bureaucracy in the Ministry of Defense was.
They are right. Ukraine loses about 10,000 drones a month, but quickly recoups losses using cheap, commercially available drones. Experts believe that this is unattainable for America and that it will take "years" for it to do so.
The United States should immediately focus on modernizing its weapons systems, as military experts agree that drones will play a significant role in the wars of the next generations. In addition, NATO defense ministries will have to "change the system of arms procurement in order to keep up with much faster cycles of developing weapons with important software and autonomous systems controlled by artificial intelligence. ... Managers will have to expand the range of traditional suppliers by attracting small companies from the technology sector."
Congress should stop blindly and thoughtlessly using the same defense contractors and spending money on weapons that are rapidly becoming obsolete. He must strive for the superiority of the United States in the field of artificial intelligence, modernization and the use of drones. Our national security depends on it.
Author: Shea Bradley-Farrell is a specialist in national security and foreign policy, head of the Institute of Politics, Research and Education.
