The Russian army’s state-of-the-art electronic warfare systems are capable of significantly hampering the planned counteroffensive by Ukrainian forces, David T. Pyne, an EMP Task Force scholar and former US Department of Defense officer, told Sputnik.
On April 15, the Russian Armed Forces commemorate the Day of the Electronic Warfare (EW) Specialist, which has been celebrated since 2006, in line with a decree issued by President Vladimir Putin.
The holiday dates back to April 15, 1904, when the enemy’s communication system was jammed during the siege of the Fortress of Port Arthur amid the Russian-Japanese war.
Since then, Russian EW troops have turned into a force to be reckoned with, something that was once again confirmed by recent Pentagon leaks that in particular contain sensitive information on the conflict in Ukraine, where Russia continues its special military operation.
According to one of the leaked documents recently cited by US media, American-made smart bombs, known as Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), "are falling victim to Russian electronic jamming in Ukraine, causing them to miss their targets."
"That is a very significant development, though not at all surprising, given Russia’s robust capabilities in electronic warfare particularly in long-range GPS jammers which are second to none and their military doctrine of establishing electronic superiority and supremacy at the beginning of any conflict," Pyne pointed out.
When asked how Ukraine's planned spring offensive can be affected by Russian EW systems, the scholar suggested that they could be used "to jam Ukrainian satellite guidance and positioning signals, making Ukrainian military forces unable to use precision guided munitions."
"This likely helps to account for why the leaked top-secret documents indicate that the US does not believe the upcoming Ukrainian spring counteroffensive in the Zaporozhye region will make more than modest gains," Pyne added.
Touching upon the Russian EW systems on the whole, he explained that "what makes them unique is their ability to jam not just enemy communications and radars but also satellite guidance and positioning signal ranges far longer than Western EW jamming systems, reportedly up to ranges of as much as 200-500 kilometers."
Pyne recalled that these systems can also "engage in cyberattacks against the enemy by transmitting malicious codes which can infect enemy internet and communications networks," and in addition, they are capable of transmitting "false or demoralizing texts to enemy troops and civilians."
According to him, Russia "has not really showcased its full cyber and electronic warfare capabilities, which many national security analysts assess to be the best in the world." The scholar added that these capabilities help Russian "blind early warning systems and severely disrupt or degrade military command and control systems [of potential enemies] making it difficult [for them] to conduct offensive or even defensive operations."
Russia’s Electronic Warfare Troops Catch NATO Spying on Russian Cellphones, Create Countermeasures
The use of civilian telephony for military and intelligence purposes has long been a major concern for counterintelligence services. The Russian military has implemented a special system aimed at preventing unauthorised access to the information of Russia-based cellular subscribers.
NATO intelligence services have deployed a capability allowing them to listen in on or block the communications of Russian cellular subscribers, forcing Moscow to create countermeasures, Russian Electronic Warfare Troops chief Yuri Lastochkin has revealed.
“The widespread use of cellular communications systems to support the activities of the Russian Defence Ministry and various organs of executive power have contributed to the formation of a new area of activity for foreign intelligence.
Already today, the special services of NATO countries are actively using false base stations to forcibly connect cellular subscribers. By doing so, specialists of foreign intelligence services receive the opportunity to not only listen to cell phones and view text messages, but also selectively block subscribers and deceive them by sending false messages,” the officer said in an interview with the military’s official newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, on Friday.
To counter this threat, specialists from the Electronic Warfare Troops’ Research Center have developed technology to counter such unauthorized access, Lastochkin said.
“The system detects the false base station, determines its location, blocks the technical channel through which information is leaked and restores communication with a legitimate base station of a cellular operator of the 2G, 3G or 4G standard,” the commander said. A similar system is said to be being developed for 5G, he noted.
The system’s use is expected to significantly increase the security of critical MoD facilities from foreign snooping, Lastochkin said.
The extent to which cellular and internet communications can be compromised by intelligence services was first detailed by former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden in 2013. The whistleblower revealed that in addition to targeted snooping of potential adversaries and security threats, the NSA had developed the capability to engage in the bulk collection of cellphone data of ordinary Americans, and even the ability to track cellphone locations worldwide.
Last year, media reported that Pegasus, an Israeli-made military-grade spyware capable of taking control of phones without users knowing it, was used extensively to target over 50,000 people worldwide, including multiple heads of state, opposition leaders, journalists and activists. The scandal once again brought to the forefront the theme of information security in an increasingly interconnected, digital world.
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