The Silent Electronic Battleground Shaping the Future of Warfare
From spoofing hypersonic missiles to jamming drone signals, combat zones are in the grip of an electronic arms race
Earlier this year, two Russian ballistic missiles hurtled at hypersonic speeds toward a key government site in Ukraine’s capital city. They crashed into the Dnipro River after being intercepted by a radio signal.
Around that time, the navigation apps on many phones in Kyiv showed users as located in Peru. It was the electronic calling card of Night Watch, an elite Ukrainian jamming unit that says it downed the missiles with its Lima system.
A silent electronic battle is raging at the heart of the Russia-Ukraine war. Both sides are attacking and defending communication signals on an unprecedented scale, innovating at pace, while the U.S. and other Western countries are working to catch up. The Pentagon is investing heavily in new capabilities.
“This is a new era of spectrum warfare,” said Lt. Col. Matt Sherburne, the U.S. Army’s chief for electronic warfare capabilities development.
