How Russia prevented US smart bombs from changing the course of the war in Ukraine

Cách Nga ngăn bom thông minh của Mỹ thay đổi cục diện chiến sự ở Ukraine - 1 — A regular bomb equipped with a JDAM-ER guidance kit becomes a smart bomb (Photo: Mil.in.ua).

Last month, the US confirmed that it had provided Ukraine with JDAM-ER smart bombs. In fact, this is a kit, including a global positioning device and an advanced control system, that can turn ordinary bombs into smart bombs capable of high-precision guidance.

At the time, Western military experts said these bombs would pose unprecedented challenges to Russian forces. JDAM-ER flies up to 72km and can weigh up to 900kg, causing great devastation when hitting a target. When released from an aircraft, these bombs automatically aim at predetermined coordinates and act as a “drop and forget” weapon.

However, Politico quoted an anonymous Pentagon official as saying that the JDAM-ER's target hit rate was relatively low because Russia used electronic warfare weapons to intercept the bombs. This information also appeared in US documents about the war in Ukraine that were leaked recently. Specifically, the documents said that the JDAM-ER appeared to have been disabled by Russian electronic warfare equipment in some attacks.

According to the report, there were two problems with the JDAM-ER. First, the bomb’s fuse appeared to be improperly installed, which the Ukrainian Air Force has since fixed. Second, the GPS signal that helps the bomb locate its target is said to have frequently malfunctioned, causing it to miss its target. Russia is believed to be behind the second problem.

Additionally, the document also states that guided rockets from Ukraine's multiple launch system (GMLRS) also have similar GPS problems.

At the time of the report, the Ukrainian air force had dropped at least nine JDAM-ERs on Russian targets, and nearly half appeared to have missed due to Russian jamming of the bomb's signal.

According to the Eurasian Times , military power Russia possesses the world's leading electronic warfare equipment.

Electronic warfare weapons are often called “invisible killers” because they are military devices that use electromagnetic energy to attack or disrupt the operations of opponents. They can disable any electrical equipment and can be carried out from the ground, air, land, sea and space without the use of explosives or direct attacks.

According to experts, a successful electronic warfare mission could suppress communications networks, navigation systems and even aircraft.

"Almost immediately, the communications system would go down or you wouldn't be able to direct fire, you wouldn't be able to warn of incoming fire because the radars would go down and they wouldn't be able to detect anything," said retired Col. Laurie Moe Buckhout, an electronic warfare expert.

“It can also be more dangerous and damaging than conventional weapon attacks because it disables the opponent's defenses,” said Ms. Buckhout.

During the war in Ukraine, Russia has applied electronic warfare equipment quite effectively, for example, reducing the power of Ukrainian drones on the front line.

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