Saturday 06 May 2023
Russians jam GPS signals Are HIMARS losing value for Ukraine?
The US has delivered 20 HIMARS to Ukraine so far.
HIMARS rocket launchers play a key role in the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kherson region. According to one report, however, US weapons are no longer as dominant as they were a few months ago. The reason is said to be Russian disruptive attacks.
Since last summer, Ukraine has been successfully using US HIMARS multiple rocket launchers against the Russian invaders. According to the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the precision weapon played a crucial role in the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the Kherson region. Targeted shelling of bridges and depots, Kiev forced Moscow’s troops to retreat to the east bank of the Dnipro River. Because of their key role, some military experts also refer to the HIMARS as a “game changer”.
But according to a media report, the rocket launchers are no longer as effective as they were a few months ago. Like the transmitter CNN citing several people involved, Russia has recently succeeded more often in interfering with the GPS target system with electronic jammers, causing the missiles to miss their target. According to this, US and Ukrainian officials are always busy optimizing the HIMARS software so that it can withstand the increasing Russian jamming actions.
“It’s a constant cat-and-mouse game,” a Pentagon official told the station. However, the possibilities of software updates should be limited. According to CNN, the US is also advising the Ukrainians on how to identify and destroy the Russian jammers.
So far, Ukraine has received 20 HIMARS from the USA, with 18 more to be delivered in the next few years. The rocket launchers are often used by the Ukrainian armed forces to precisely destroy supply depots and supply routes behind the front lines. The fire attacks mostly happen in the later hours of the day, which is why the term “hour HIMARS” became common in social media.
The HIMARS currently deployed by Kiev only have a range of about 80 kilometers. So far, the US has been reluctant to equip Ukraine with short-range ballistic missiles (ATACMS). They increase the HIMARS range to up to 300 kilometers.
Source: ntv.de
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