Drones, jammers in Ukraine signal new era of warfare, Del Toro says

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now nearing the end of its second year, has ushered in a “new era of war” in which drones and electronic warfare are having outsize impacts, the secretary of the U.S. Navy said.

Both Russian and Ukrainian militaries are employing unmanned aerial systems to scout, target and attack while simultaneously using jammers and spoofers to defend the skies above or the trenches they’ve dug. The cat-and-mouse game is deadly, with each side trying to outthink and outbuild the other.

“The world around us is changing at a rapid pace, with an air of uncertainty as to what the future holds,” Carlos Del Toro said Dec. 12 at the Association of Old Crows conference in Maryland. “For the U.S. and our NATO allies, the conflict in Ukraine reinforces the emphasis that we place on developing and maintaining a ready, interoperable combat power that is capable of fighting in contested environments, including the electromagnetic spectrum.”

The U.S. Department of Defense is pouring billions of dollars into the development of drones, EW and a mix of the two.

The Navy this year tested Lockheed Martin’s Advanced Off-Board Electronic Warfare pod, meant to be mounted aboard helicopters to detect and deceive anti-ship missiles, and separatetly linked what one commander described as “unmanned and unmanned” at the Integrated Battle Problem exercise in the waters off California.

U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro listens to a question from the audience Dec. 12, 2023, at the Association of Old Crows conference in National Harbor, Maryland. (Colin Demarest/C4ISRNET)

“We recognize that spectrum operations, in particular electronic warfare, with any potential or actual adversary, is a constant series of moves and countermoves to develop strategic, operational and tactical advantages in the battlespace,” Del Toro said. The Navy’s established EW efforts include the Growler aircraft, made by Boeing, and the Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program , or SEWIP, featuring contractors General Dynamics, Lockheed and Northrop Grumman.

Washington has committed both drones and EW equipment to Kyiv. While the Defense Department often discloses the makes and models of the former as they are shipped over seas, it does not publicly discuss the latter.

Del Toro and other national-security officials met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy this week. Continued U.S. aid for the besieged country could soon dry up amid congressional disagreements.

“He beseeched us, the entire United States government, to please help Congress pass the supplemental that is being debated on Capitol Hill, hopefully over the next week or so,” Del Toro said said of Zelenskyy. “I cannot begin to tell you how incredibly important that is. We cannot simply afford to leave our allies and partners on the battlefield of Ukraine without the support that they so deserve.”

Colin Demarest was a reporter at C4ISRNET, where he covered military networks, cyber and IT. Colin had previously covered the Department of Energy and its National Nuclear Security Administration — namely Cold War cleanup and nuclear weapons development — for a daily newspaper in South Carolina. Colin is also an award-winning photographer.

马里兰州国家港——美国海军部长表示，俄罗斯入侵乌克兰的战争已经接近第二年，开启了“战争新时代”，无人机和电子战正在产生巨大的影响。

俄罗斯和乌克兰军队都在使用无人机系统进行侦察、目标定位和攻击，同时还使用干扰器和欺骗器来保卫领空或他们挖掘的战壕。这场猫鼠游戏极其危险，双方都试图在策略和装备上胜过对方。

“我们周围的世界正在快速变化，未来充满不确定性，”卡洛斯·德尔·托罗12月12日在马里兰州举行的老乌鸦协会会议上表示。“对于美国及其北约盟国而言，乌克兰冲突更加凸显了我们对发展和维持一支随时可用、可互操作的作战力量的重视，这支力量能够在包括电磁频谱在内的各种对抗环境中作战。”

美国国防部正投入数十亿美元用于无人机、电子战以及两者结合的研发。

今年，美国海军在加利福尼亚附近海域举行的“综合作战问题”演习中，测试了洛克希德·马丁公司的先进机外电子战吊舱，该吊舱旨在安装在直升机上，用于探测和欺骗反舰导弹，并单独连接了一位指挥官所描述的“无人和无人”系统。

2023年12月12日，美国海军部长卡洛斯·德尔·托罗在马里兰州国家港举行的“老乌鸦协会”会议上聆听听众提问。（科林·德马雷斯特/C4ISRNET）

德尔·托罗表示：“我们认识到，频谱作战，特别是与任何潜在或实际对手的电子战，都是一系列持续不断的行动和反制措施，旨在战场上建立战略、作战和战术优势。”海军现有的电子战项目包括波音公司制造的“咆哮者”电子战飞机，以及由通用动力公司、洛克希德·马丁公司和诺斯罗普·格鲁曼公司等承包商参与的“水面电子战改进计划”（SEWIP）。

华盛顿已向基辅提供了无人机和电子战设备。虽然国防部通常会在无人机运往海外时披露其制造商和型号，但不会公开讨论电子战设备。

德尔·托罗和其他国家安全官员本周会见了乌克兰总统泽连斯基。由于国会内部存在分歧，美国对这个饱受围困的国家的持续援助可能很快就会停止。

德尔托罗在谈到泽连斯基时说：“他恳求我们，整个美国政府，帮助国会通过正在国会山辩论的补充拨款法案，希望能在接下来的一周左右通过。我无法用语言来形容这件事的重要性。我们不能眼睁睁地看着我们的盟友和伙伴在乌克兰战场上得不到他们应得的支持。”

科林·德马雷斯特曾是C4ISRNET的记者，负责报道军事网络、网络安全和信息技术方面的新闻。此前，他曾为南卡罗来纳州的一家日报报道美国能源部及其下属的国家核安全管理局，主要关注冷战后的清理工作和核武器研发。科林还是一位屡获殊荣的摄影师。