John Flint, JDAM project manager for Boeing Weapon and Missile Systems, envisioned a battlefield scenario in which the US military would encounter a series of cheap jammers to cover US missile targets.
In April, Assistant Secretary of Defense Bob Work told a group of people at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pa. That guided munitions and advanced weapons (such as GPS jammers) would be features of future operations. on the ground.
He said Ukrainian separatists and their Russian-backed sponsor states are "very certain" that they are using advanced electronic warfare equipment, and the Defense Ministry has tried to discern their effectiveness in interfering with command networks. and control and GPS frequencies.
Walker said, “These wave jammers are spreading like conventional guided weapons. "So in the future, the US military and US Marine Corps and our allies will have to fight on a battlefield swept by precision guided munitions. But it is also necessary to fight on the battlefield of continuous and effective scanning of cybernetic ammunition. And electronic warfare attacks. "
Deputy Under Secretary for Defense Policy Douglas Loverro (Douglas Loverro) told members of Congress during a congressional hearing on March 25 that the Department of Defense had increased its space defense budget by $ 5 billion dollars, part of which is used for satellites and anti-interference capability. user equipment.
In terms of precision guided weapons, the US Air Force's research lab at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida is studying a researcher who can guide bombs to detect and destroy GPS jammer, known as home GPS jammers. or HOG-J ..
Last year, the lab signed a $ 9.8 million contract with Science Applications & Research Associates of Cypress, Calif., To integrate the researcher into JDAM and Small Diameter Bomb Increment I (SDB) -I) in the 'weapon, and demonstrated in the flight test. This work at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico is expected to be completed by the end of 2016.
Alan Shaffer, Assistant Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said at a congressional hearing in 2014: “HOG-J has already conducted some initial successful tests and may be ready to invest in two. at three years. in stock. "
JDAM is a guidance kit that can convert unguided or “misfire” gravity bombs into smart munitions. For many years it relied only on inertial navigation systems assisted by GPS, but Boeing developed a laser-guided version and made its combat debut in 2008.
It is not clear how vulnerable JDAM is to GPS wave jammers. Flint, the JDAM project manager, declined to discuss a Jerusalem Post report that North Korea's interference with GPS signals in South Korea in 2011 affected his JDAM arsenal, but he said that society took the threat of GPS rejection seriously. environment. arms.
He said, “I cannot comment on specific incidents, but we believe GPS interference is a very feasible solution and may pose a threat to the accuracy and performance of the weapons we have obtained. "