Russia Steps Up Efforts To Jam US-Provided GPS In Ukraine: Pentagon

The Pentagon now says Russia is in the midst of a major jamming operation attempt of Ukraine’s access to GPS signals, which if successful would have a huge impact on Ukraine’s ability to navigate the battlefield and operate advanced aerial systems such as drones. 

What’s further is that these latest efforts, which follow widespread reports that Russia jammed GPS in Ukraine just ahead of the Feb.24 invasion, appear aimed at disrupting new US-supplied equipment, in particular small advanced drones. 

In a Monday NBC interview, Gen. David Thompson of the US Space Force described that Russia is taking direct aim at communications infrastructure provided by the US: “Russia is interfering with the US-provided GPS signals in Ukraine,” he said.

NBC show narrator, Pentagon correspondent Tom Costello explained, “While Russia and China have their own GPS satellites, most of the world relies on the GPS provided by the US for free.”

The report further said, “Russia has also reportedly jammed the GPS systems used by civilian aircraft along its borders with Finland.”

Space Force’s Gen. Thompson described that the Russians are making a “clear statement to us about their intention to threaten our capabilities” – including the scenario that eventually the Kremlin could take direct action against US GPS satellites in space. 

Additionally, according to The Washington Post: 

European officials have blamed Russia for recent disruptions to satellite navigation systems used by commercial aircraft in Finland and the Black Sea. HawkEye 360, a U.S. radio frequency analytics company, last month said Russia had jammed GPS signals in Ukraine in the months leading up to the Feb. 24 invasion.

In November, Russia’s GPS jamming disrupted Ukrainian drones in Luhansk and Donetsk, HawkEye 360 said. The Switchblade and Puma drones that the United States has supplied to Ukraine use GPS coordinates to hit targets and navigate.

It was recently announced that the US would be providing Ukraine’s military with at least 100 Switchblade drone systems, which are used by US Special Operations Command and act essentially as “robotic smart bombs” – as in they are one-use only ‘kamikaze drones’ that guide to their target via GPS.