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 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.
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.
Washington has committed both drones and EW equipment to Kyiv. 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.
