By Chethana Janith, Jadetimes News
In recent developments, Ukrainian efforts to deploy advanced long range GLSDB bombs have faced significant hindrances from Russian jamming techniques, according to sources familiar with the matter. Over the past year, Ukraine has actively pursued weaponry with extended operational ranges surpassing the capabilities of the 43 mile (69 km) U.S. supplied GMLRS rockets. This strategic move by Kyiv aimed to effectively target and disrupt Russian supply lines and logistical bases.
To answer that call, Boeing Co. offered a new weapon to the Pentagon with a 100-mile (161-km) range, the Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB). The glide bomb has small wings that extend its reach, and it is comprised of the GBU-39 Small Diameter Bomb (SDB) and the M26 rocket motor, both of which are common in U.S. inventories and relatively inexpensive.
But the GLSDB's navigation system, which enables it to be steered around obstacles like mountains and known anti air defenses, has been targeted by Russian jamming, the three people briefed on he matter said.
While Boeing has said the weapon can defeat some jamming, one of the sources said it would take Boeing months to fix.
Boeing and Ukrainian authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The bomb is made jointly by SAAB AB, and Boeing, and it was in development well before Russia's full scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Jamming happens when huge amounts of energy are broadcast into an area, overwhelming a device's signal. Russia has used the tactic on Ukrainian radios, drones and even GPS guidable Excalibur 155 millimeter artillery munitions.
Ukraine has been using GLSDBs since earlier this year and experts have noted that it has not performed well on the battlefield because of jamming.
Ukraine has also been using both short and long range Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) which have a range up to 180 miles (300 km).
Jamming on the battlefield in Ukraine is "simply a reality, and numerous weapon systems have had to contend with these and other countermeasures," said Tom Karako, a weapons expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
"Whether such challenges are in turn countered with technical upgrades or simply alternative methods of employment, the utility of long range fires is going to persist. "
SIGNAL JAMMING
The need for AI enabled drones is becoming more pressing as both sides roll out Electronic Warfare (EW) systems that disrupt signals between pilots and drones.
Small, cheap, FPV (first person view) drones in particular, which became the main way for both sides to hit enemy vehicles in 2023, are seeing their hit rates fall as jamming increases.
"We are already working with the concept that in the near future, there will be no connection on the front line" between pilot and UAV, said Max Makarchuk, the AI lead for Brave1, a defence tech accelerator set up by the Ukrainian government.
According to Makarchuk, the percentage of FPVs that hit their target is constantly falling. Most FPV units now see a strike rate of 30-50%, while for new pilots that can be as low as 10%.
He predicted that AI operated FPV drones could post hit rates of around 80%.
To counter the EW threat, makers including Swarmer have started developing functions which allow a drone to lock onto a target through its camera.
EW systems form an invisible signal jamming dome over the equipment and soldiers which they protect.
If a pilot's contact with the drone is cut, they can no longer control it and the craft either plummets to the ground or continues flying straight on.
Automating the final part of a drone's flight to its target means that it no longer needs the pilot, thus nullifying the effect of the EW's jamming.
AI enabled drones have been in development for years, but had hitherto been seen as expensive and experimental.
Bendett said Russia had been developing AI enabled aerial and ground drones before the 2022 invasion, and had claimed some successes.
In Ukraine, the key task for manufacturers is to produce an AI targeting system for drones which is cheap. That would allow it to be deployed en masse along the entire 1,000 km (621 mile) front line, where thousands of FPV drones are used up each week.
Costs can be brought down by running AI programmes on a Raspberry Pi, a small, cheap computer which has found global popularity outside the educational purposes it was designed for.
Makarchuk said he estimated the cost of putting in a simple targeting system, which would lock onto a shape visible to the drone's camera, at only about $150 per drone.
