The U.S. is facing the most intense electronic warfare "on the planet" in Syria, Gen. Raymond Thomas, the U.S. Special Operations Commander leader, told an audience of intelligence professionals, Breaking Defense reported.
"Right now in Syria we are operating in the most aggressive EW environment on the planet from our adversaries. They are testing us every day, knocking our communications down, disabling our EC-130s, etc.," Thomas said, referring to a U.S. aircraft.
The EC-130 is designed for electronic warfare, and is designed to disrupt enemy communications, radar, command and control communications, and to suppress air defenses, Business Insider reported.
Russians have "killer capabilities," said retired Army colonel Laurie Moe Buckhout.
“The Russians have redone and re-engineered their entire EW fleet in the last 20 years… the Russians put in millions of upgrades after (the Russians attacked) Georgia. They’ve ended up with killer capabilities, jamming in a multitude of frequencies for hundreds of kilometers,” Buckhout said, Breaking Defense reported.
The Russians "know all our vulnerabilities," Buckhout added.
They could have taken an easier path instead of taking on the EC-130’s electronic attack capabilities, Buckhout added. They could have targeted the craft’s Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) or the craft’s communications gear, which would make it harder to fly the craft, since crews would have to rely on maps, line of sight, or other methods, the report said.
The U.S. is not up to date on tactical electronic warfare, said defense consultant Loren Thompson, Breaking Defense reported.
"We’ve spent so much time fighting enemies in Southwest Asia who were technically unsophisticated that we are not up to speed on tactical electronic warfare," Thompson said.
Russia is using Syria as "the ultimate testing ground," an October 2017 Stratfor report notes.
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