Ukraine’s latest batch of F-16s has been equipped to conduct “full-spectrum electromagnetic warfare,” allowing them to rebuff Moscow’s jamming efforts and other electronic attacks on the battlefield.
The US Air Force has successfully updated the electronic warfare systems on F-16 fighter jets being sent to Ukraine, according to a Monday report from the US Department of Defense’s Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS).
The US Air Force’s 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron, a small unit based at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, was tasked with upgrading the fighter jets. It did so using data provided by its counterparts in Denmark and Norway.
The upgraded F-16s were supplied by the Netherlands and Denmark, which pledged to send dozens of the coveted jets to Ukraine in early July. Some of the jets have reportedly seen action over the country’s skies.
According to the DVIDS, the upgrades, focused on enhancing Ukraine’s “electronic warfare” capabilities, will make the jets more effective in combatting the “evolving Russian threats in the [electromagnetic] spectrum.”
According to Lockheed Martin, which manufactures the “Fighting Falcons,” proficiency in electronic warfare is the ability “to use the electromagnetic spectrum—signals such as radio, infrared, or radar—to sense, protect, and communicate.”
“Both Ukraine and Russia’s militaries heavily rely on unfettered access to the electromagnetic spectrum to achieve commander objectives,” the DVIDS said on Monday. “And both sides have continuously engaged in [electronic warfare] through techniques such as jamming and spoofing throughout the war to achieve spectrum superiority.”
Electronic warfare has consistently been a significant aspect of Russia’s military strategy in Ukraine, highlighting the need for upgrades to Kyiv’s Western-supplied weapons.
In December, U.S. Lieutenant General Antonio Aguto warned that the effectiveness of American precision munitions sent to Ukraine had been weakened by Russian jamming and that countering Moscow’s electronic warfare had been a consistent “challenge” in the conflict.
Before this, unnamed Ukrainian military officials told CNN that Russia had used electronic jammers to scramble the guiding systems on U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, causing missiles to fly off course and hit unintended targets.
While Ukraine has successfully destroyed some of Russia’s electronic warfare capabilities, the F-16 upgrades were necessary to ensure Ukraine’s advantage in the electronic arena.
According to DDIS, however, the upgrades to Ukraine’s jets are only the first step in combining Western electronic warfare capabilities, “furthering the ability of the U.S. and its allies to fight side-by-side in the spectrum.”
“When you’re talking about a near-peer conflict, you need all of your coalition partners to operate with the same playbook so you can achieve spectrum dominance,” the 68th Electronic Warfare Squadron director said. “One F-16 with a reprogrammed pod won’t achieve air dominance alone, but it may give you a pocket of air superiority for a moment to achieve an objective with strategic importance and impact.”
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