Posted in Beijing 2023-12-25 14:47.
Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia has relied on electronic warfare (EW) to jam, deceive or destroy Ukrainian drones, according to the US diplomatic network on December 19**. Russia's use of electronic warfare is not arbitrary;It forms a central component of its operational doctrine. The Royal Joint Services Institute (RUSI) reports that Russian forces deploy one main electronic warfare system every 10 kilometers from the front line. Smaller directional jammers are used at the platoon level, while more sophisticated electronic warfare systems are used for rear area defense. According to Rusi, the Ukrainian army is losing about 10,000 drones per month due to Russian electronic warfare.
Inspired by Ukraine's widespread use of such systems, the Pentagon plans to deploy small, inexpensive unmanned capabilities as part of the Replicator program over the next 18-24 months. The U.S. Department of Defense is making a big bet: the use of thousands of expendable unmanned systems will neutralize China's superiority in numbers, missiles and ships.
The war in Ukraine has become a "testing bed" for new battlefield technologies and operational concepts, of which drones are the most important. UAVs direct artillery fire, provide constant aerial surveillance, and aim at armored vehicles. Ukraine's military is investing significant manpower and resources to maximize combat effectiveness: Ukraine plans to spend $1 billion to upgrade its drone capabilities and has trained 10,000 new drone operators.
Non-technical battlefield adaptation has also weakened the lethality of drones. Both sides use basic covert measures such as camouflage or natural foliage to hide vehicles and artillery systems from high-altitude surveillance. Tunnels played a role in the fight against UAVs. Russian forces reportedly used tunnels to move between trench lines during Ukraine** to avoid detection from above. Ukrainian forces have even deployed fake howitzers, tanks, and radar systems made of plastic as bait to trick Russian drone observers into wasting ammunition. To further reduce the risk of being detected by Russian drones, the Ukrainian army prefers to conduct offensive operations between sunset and sunrise, as it is more difficult for drones to detect infantry movements at this time.
Temporary anti-drone innovations are also proliferating on the battlefield. Russian tanks are often equipped with metal screens to protect themselves from overhead drones, although smaller, faster first-person view (FPV) drones can still pass through. While these modifications were initially derided as "coping cages," other armies have caught on: Israel is equipped with metal cages for its Merkava tanks before launching its invasion of Gaza, after seeing the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones against unprotected Russian tanks in the early days of the war.
With the proliferation of effective anti-drone systems and tactics, the over-reliance on UAVs may create new problems for battlefield forces. To make the replicator work, the Pentagon is planning for low-level forces to be able to incorporate drones and other unmanned systems into their combat plans. However, the growing tactical reliance on drones could hinder infantry operations. The main purpose of infantry units is to approach and destroy the enemy, and it is necessary to act quickly to seize the initiative. In contrast, drone operators must methodically scan the battlefield for potential threats and targets. As Ukrainian drone pilots can attest, there is also a risk that the electromagnetic signal will reveal its location, compromising the tactical advantage of concealment and surprise attacks on the infantry they support.
Drones and other unmanned systems will continue to play an important role in modern warfare, and the Pentagon is right to increase its investment in cheap, expendable unmanned systems. However, as the Russia-Ukraine conflict has shown, battlefield adaptation during the war is more important than the technological superiority of both sides at the beginning.