WASHINGTON, DC - Former Director of Strategy for the Pentagon's National Counterterrorism Center Lt. Gen. Michael Nagata (ret.) was among several special operators who publicly warned that the U.S. has continued to fall behind our potential adversaries, including Russia in electronic warfare. Particularly worrisome is the effectiveness of Russian jamming technology against U.S. munitions in use by Ukraine.
According to DefenseOne, Lt. Gen. Nagata told the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida last week, "The gap between where the United States should be and where we are, in my judgment, continues to expand not everywhere, but in far too many places."
Nagata said that for U.S. forces to cover the lost ground with Russia, the Pentagon must be creative regarding the use of radio technology and space-based communications. Under the Obama administration, Nagata led special operations in the Middle East before taking the director role under former President Donald Trump. He is presently senior vice president for CACI International, a major IT corporation specializing in "national security and government modernization."
The outlet reported that during the conference "two recently retired special-operations personnel," both specializing in Electronic Warfare said that Russia excels in this area because Moscow disregards international laws against jamming civilian signals and has emphasized the development of electronic warfare assets where the U.S. focused primarily on intelligence gathering.
Through 2022 and into 2023, the Russian military's successful use of electronic countermeasures was widely reported. In recent news the neighboring Baltic Sea nation of Estonia summoned the head of the Russian embassy to answer for the jamming of GPS signals above the nation situated between the Russian military exclave of Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. Estonia protested that Russia of violating international regulations by disrupting GPS navigation in their airspace in addition to Latvia and Lithuania.
The statement continued, "These incidents are part of an intensifying campaign of activities which Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on Alliance territory and through proxies. This includes sabotage, acts of violence, cyber and electronic interference, disinformation campaigns, and other hybrid operations," saying the actions " constitute a threat to Allied security."
As reported by Business Insider, Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto, commander of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine told lawmakers in December called the electronic warfare being levied against the US military's "most precise capabilities" was "a challenge." Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian (ret.) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told the publication "the widespread GPS spoofing we see in Ukraine adds urgency to solving a problem DoD has long recognized: that wartime spoofing will reduce the effectiveness of its weapons."
According to DefenseOne, Lt. Gen. Nagata told the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida last week, "The gap between where the United States should be and where we are, in my judgment, continues to expand not everywhere, but in far too many places."
Nagata said that for U.S. forces to cover the lost ground with Russia, the Pentagon must be creative regarding the use of radio technology and space-based communications. Under the Obama administration, Nagata led special operations in the Middle East before taking the director role under former President Donald Trump. He is presently senior vice president for CACI International, a major IT corporation specializing in "national security and government modernization."
The outlet reported that during the conference "two recently retired special-operations personnel," both specializing in Electronic Warfare said that Russia excels in this area because Moscow disregards international laws against jamming civilian signals and has emphasized the development of electronic warfare assets where the U.S. focused primarily on intelligence gathering.
Through 2022 and into 2023, the Russian military's successful use of electronic countermeasures was widely reported. In recent news the neighboring Baltic Sea nation of Estonia summoned the head of the Russian embassy to answer for the jamming of GPS signals above the nation situated between the Russian military exclave of Kaliningrad and St. Petersburg. Estonia protested that Russia of violating international regulations by disrupting GPS navigation in their airspace in addition to Latvia and Lithuania.
In a statement released by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the Alliance said "NATO Allies are deeply concerned about recent malign activities on Allied territory, including those resulting in the investigation and charging of multiple individuals in connection with hostile state activity affecting Czechia, Estonia, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and the United Kingdom."I wrote on the most recent Baltic GPS jamming. Thanks to @auonsson for sharing their data, which triangulates the jammers’ location to near St Petersburg. Other sources say there is evidence of Russian jamming there. Most likely force protection. https://t.co/9KeJnYraEr pic.twitter.com/1Wu6zO1fK1
— Shashank Joshi (@shashj) April 30, 2024
The statement continued, "These incidents are part of an intensifying campaign of activities which Russia continues to carry out across the Euro-Atlantic area, including on Alliance territory and through proxies. This includes sabotage, acts of violence, cyber and electronic interference, disinformation campaigns, and other hybrid operations," saying the actions " constitute a threat to Allied security."
As reported by Business Insider, Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto, commander of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine told lawmakers in December called the electronic warfare being levied against the US military's "most precise capabilities" was "a challenge." Marine Corps Col. Mark Cancian (ret.) of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told the publication "the widespread GPS spoofing we see in Ukraine adds urgency to solving a problem DoD has long recognized: that wartime spoofing will reduce the effectiveness of its weapons."
Nagata's warning was stark at the convention. He said that the mastery of low-earth-orbit satellite communications is a crucial factor for U.S. military operations given Russia's capability to interfere with U.S. signals. He added that American leaders can improve the military's acquisition process and incentivize military officials to take more risks.Russia's jamming of American weapons in Ukraine is showing the US what it needs to be ready for in a future fight - Russia's electronic warfare capabilities are actively challenging the effectiveness of American precision weapons in Ukraine.
— Last24Report (@Last24Report) May 12, 2024
· Russian jamming tactics are… pic.twitter.com/qWm30xGdC5
“The U.S. government, particularly its leadership—from senior military officers all the way to civilian policymakers–we have to be willing to take more risk in experimenting with, adopting and employing new technologies. We will invite failure along the way. But if you're not willing to fail, you're not going to succeed.”
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