US media: Russia has increased electronic interference, and Ukrainian officers complain that the "Hippocampus" rocket system has completely failed

Source: Global Times New Media

According to the Washington Post on May 24, many high-tech weapons provided by the United States to Ukraine have been unable to give full play to their precision strike advantages because Russia has increased its electronic jamming efforts on the battlefield. Ukrainian officers also complained that the "Hippocampus" rocket system provided by the United States had completely failed.

According to the confidential evaluation report of Ukraine obtained by the Washington Post, many satellite guided munitions used by Ukraine could not resist Russian interference technology, which led to a sharp decline in the precision strike capability of these munitions, forcing Ukraine to stop using some weapons provided by the West. Senior Ukrainian military officials also confirmed the news.

The picture is a screenshot of the Washington Post report

The US media said that Russia's ability to counter precision strike munitions has a significant impact on Ukraine and its western supporters, which is also the key reason for the Russian army to regain the initiative and promote on the battlefield. According to Ukraine's internal confidential assessment report, in 2023, the hit rate of the "Excalibur" guided shell launched by the Ukrainian military will drop sharply in a few months, and the probability of the final hit to the target will be less than 10%, and finally the Ukrainian military will be forced to give up using this shell. The evaluation report said: "The current version of the 'Excalibur' shell has lost its potential". The battlefield experience has proved that it has no precision attack capability - at least until the Pentagon and American manufacturers solve the problem. " It is said that after Uzbekistan reported this problem, the United States stopped providing "magic sword" shells because of the high failure rate.

The picture shows the "Hippocampus" rocket system (data picture)

In addition to the "Divine Sword" guided shells, the "Hippocampus" rocket system, which was once regarded by the Ukrainian army as a powerful weapon against the Russian army, also lost its original power. In the first year of the outbreak of the Russian Ukrainian conflict, the Ukrainian army used the "Hippocampus" rocket system to accurately attack the Russian ammunition depot and headquarters at the rear of the front line. The next year, things changed. "Everything is over, Russia has deployed electronic warfare system, and the 'Hippocampus' has completely failed," said a senior Ukrainian officer. A Ukrainian battalion commander who did not want to be named said that during a military operation in 2023, he found that none of the rockets launched by the "Hippocampus" rocket system had successfully hit the target through unmanned aerial vehicles.

The Washington Post said that Ukraine and the United States are looking for various solutions to counter the interference of Ukrainian troops. One method that has been proved effective by Uzbekistan is to first use UAVs to destroy nearby jamming equipment when performing precision strike tasks, but this will make military operations more complex. In addition, the United States and other Western countries are also providing Ukraine with new ammunition to improve its long-range strike capability.

The US media, for example, said that the latest US military tactical missiles have a range of more than 300 kilometers and are not vulnerable to Russian jamming systems; The "Storm Shadow" cruise missile provided by the UK uses a variety of navigation systems, and can also accurately strike targets in areas where Russia conducts electronic jamming.

At the end of the article, Ukrainian officials acknowledged that although the United States and Britain have provided new weapons, the effectiveness of these weapons will gradually decrease in the next year. "Russians will learn how to respond," said the second Ukrainian official. "This is the law of the arms race."

Extended Reading

Zelensky shouted that the West shot down the Russian missile: What's the problem with NATO joining the war?

According to the report of the New York Times on May 21, local time, on May 20, President Zelensky of Ukraine, in an interview with the newspaper in Kiev, urged the United States and European countries to take more actions to directly intervene in the Russian Ukrainian conflict. He refuted concerns about possible conflicts among nuclear powers and proposed that NATO send planes to shoot down Russian missiles.

Zerensky reiterated his appeal to senior US officials to allow Ukraine to launch US missiles and other weapons against targets in Russia - a practice that the United States has always opposed. He insisted that it was precisely because the United States did not allow Ukraine to do so that Russia gained a "huge advantage" in the Russian Ukrainian conflict.

The picture shows Zerensky's information. He proposes that NATO send planes to shoot down Russian missiles

The New York Times said that this was one of the strongest appeals Zelensky made so far when seeking more help from the United States and its NATO allies. In an interview in Kiev, he expressed frustration and bewilderment at the unwillingness of the West to take bolder measures to ensure Ukraine's victory.

Zelensky listed the actions that he believed the West should take. For example, NATO can shoot down Russian missiles flying over Ukraine without allowing aircraft to enter Ukraine's airspace, and called them purely defensive, which would not pose a risk of direct combat between NATO and Russian forces.

"So my question is, what's the problem? Why can't we shoot them down? Is this a defense? This is. Is this an attack on Russia? No, is it shooting down Russian aircraft and killing Russian pilots? No. So what's the problem with NATO countries participating in this war? There's no problem." Zelensky said, "Shoot down things over Ukraine... provide weapons for us to fight Russian troops at the border."

According to the report, in order to make a comparison, Zerensky cited the example of the United States and the United Kingdom helping Israel shoot down drones and missiles from Iran last month. "This is what we saw in Israel, even not on such a large scale.". Because the outside world was concerned about the difference in the U.S. assistance to Israel and Ukraine, the White House responded that "this is a different conflict, different airspace, and different threat scenarios".

In addition, Zerensky also urged NATO to provide Ukraine with more F-16 fighter planes and Patriot air defense missile systems. "Can we get 7 sets?" He said that Ukraine needs more "Patriot" systems, but will be satisfied with the number of 7 sets, and the NATO summit in Washington in July may make relevant decisions. He also urged the West once again to plan for Ukraine to join NATO.

In the interview, Zerensky also said more directly that allowing Ukraine to use western weapons to attack military targets in Russia is crucial to Ukraine's success in the conflict. He also claimed that the main reason for the hesitancy of the West was the fear of triggering conflicts among nuclear powers, but this fear was exaggerated because Russia would avoid using nuclear weapons. According to Zerensky, there is another reason why the West hesitates: they are seeking to maintain trade and diplomatic relations with Russia, "everyone keeps the door slightly open".