GPS deception and interference expert Humphreys warns that this may have a significant impact on American drones, leading to their malfunction or even crash. He said that if the location reported by the drone is incorrect or lost, "at least it may cause some serious confusion to the drone operators on the ground.
According to Humphreys, four years ago, after the invasion of Crimea, US analysts first discovered Russian military interference drones in eastern Ukraine. He said that the signal jammer was initially detected as a weak signal from space, reflecting back from the Earth's surface. The signal jammer had a significant impact on the United Nations unmanned reconnaissance aircraft attempting to monitor the area, grounding the fleet for several days and ceasing to collect intelligence from the air.
The Ministry of Defense, citing operational safety, is unwilling to explain whether the interference caused the drone to crash. Pentagon spokesperson Eric Pahun said, "The US military maintains sufficient countermeasures and protective measures to ensure the safety of our manned and unmanned aircraft, our troops, and the missions they support
But an official confirmed that this tactic is having a practical impact on US military operations in Syria.
Officials say that the equipment used was developed by the Russian military and is very precise, proving effective even for some encrypted signals and anti-interference receivers. So far, the affected drones have been smaller reconnaissance aircraft, rather than larger predators and harvesters that typically operate in combat environments and can be armed.
Dr Humphreys said that although the attack occurred in cyberspace, the consequences are still very serious.
Compared to kinetic energy bullets, they may appear less hostile, but sometimes their effects may also be destructive, "he said. It's like shooting them with radio waves instead of bullets
