Interlude: Depeche Mode - The Meaning of Love

Ukraine: Russian electronic jamming proves effective at degrading US supplied weapons'

(Kyiv) It is been reported that U.S. supplied Precision Guided Munitions (PGMs)  in use by Ukraine have failed to withstand Russian electronic jamming resulting in Kyiv ceasing using certain Western-provided armaments after failure rates rose sharply.

Much vaulted weapons such as Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells and the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System(HIMARS) (Along with its larger sibling the M270) have seen their ability to strike on target reduced when faced with Russian EW systems. For example, the Excalibur GPS-guided artillery shells ability to hit its target, fell to less than 10 percent before Ukraine decided to stop using them last year. Similar degradation of targeting has been seen in US supplied Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAMs) however Boeing the manufacture was quickly able to knock out and provide a fix. Another example was the MRLS missiles used by HIMARs and the M270, but as that system is still in use, It can only be presumed that a fix was worked out for this also. 

Moscow is using 3 main systems for its Electronic warfare these are:

R-330Zh Zhitel

The R-330Zh is a truck based system designed for detection, analysis, direction-finding, and jamming of satellite and cellular phone communication systems 

Krasukha

The Krasuha-4 is a broadband multifunctional jamming system designed to neutralize spy satellites  ground-based radars, airborne surveillance radars, and radar-guided ordinance at ranges between 150–300 km, and may also cause damage to enemy radar electronic warfare and communications systems. 

Tirada-2

Tirada-2: This system is designed specifically to jam satellite communications, including those used by GPS-guided munitions. By targeting the communication links between satellites and ground-based receivers, the Tirada-2 can effectively neutralize the guidance systems of weapons like the HIMARS.

Why does this matter on the larger stage. The US and its allies started swapping it dumb weaponry for smarter ones after the first Gulf War, citing that whilst these new weapons are more expensive,  due to the fact they are much more accurate, less weapons need to be procured , (And it allows politicians to play the less collateral damage card due to much smaller warheads used) If Moscow has worked out how to blind such systems , expect others such as China, North Korea, Iran to either develop similar tech or receive it from Moscow resulting in the technological edge the US (and the West) have over everybody else regards military capabilities has been eroded . But what makes this even more damning is this is nothing new, these systems (and Moscow has a lot)  have been public knowledge for years

It’s a huge wake up call for the West who will need to find ways to harden their PGMs and questions will have to be raised at how such a vulnerability wasn’t anticipated .

Russia: Forms Motorbike assault groups

(Ukraine) It never fails to amaze me how Moscow goes well out of its way in which to come off worse in the war it instigated inside the Ukraine a war to all intent and purposes it should have ended in a few days. We saw that with how it failed to gain control of the air, its poor quality of troops, the poor quality of the equipment it issues and most of all the very poor quality of its leadership who like the generals of the Western front in WW1 are happy to throw away the lives of thousands in which to gain a few feet. 

This is a military force whom the West expected if the balloon went up during the cold war to see the Soviets reach the English channel in a week. and after 2 years of fighting inside the Ukraine where from get go, Moscow has vastly outnumbered the other feller from numbers of men and equipment, the ability to absorb losses and most of all the money in the world in funding this war and yet currently Moscow has still metaphorically speaking to get out of the starting blocks. The vast majority of its gains were made at the start of the war and after suffering huge losses in men and equipment, around Kyiv and huge reversals around Kharkiv and Kherson, the only thing that saved Moscow's arse in the south was the foresight by General Sergey Surovikin to build a huge line of defences which prevented total humiliation and defeat for Moscow. Since then for both sides the war has been measured in advances of a few hundreds metres a day which of late has seen Moscow losing around 900 and 20 tanks a day.

Noting this Moscow has looked at alternative ways in which to take the war to Kyiv and some bright spark came up with the idea of equipping assault troops with Motorbikes allowing them to rush deep inside enemy territory. (gee I wonder why nobody else came up with idea) and the Russians to much fanfare reported this new breakthrough in advanced military thinking to the Plebs back home via the silver screen: (Take note how those 4 soldiers on bikes don't have any form of optic fitted to their weapons.)

Some Russia soldiers even fitted netting at the back of their assault motorbikes in which to protect them from First Person View (FPV) drones, which have taken a very heavy toll of Russian forces.

The problem with using motorbikes as a means of assault whilst good on paper, fails at the first hurdle if the other fellow is armed simply because they don't offer you any protection at all.

There's plenty more such videos across social media, I have to ask what will the Russians think of next?