ISW: Ukraine's electronic warfare capabilities growing, taking down Russian missiles

Ukraine's use of active electronic countermeasures to disable 20 Russian missiles may be “an inflection in Ukrainian electronic warfare capabilities," the Institute for the Study of War wrote in its daily Ukraine update on Jan. 13.

The institute noted that Ukrainian electronic warfare is usually credited with disabling drones, not missiles.

The ISW views Russia’s ongoing missile and drone strikes and Ukrainian adaptations to be part of a “wider tactical and technological offense-defense race between long-range strike and air defense capabilities.”

Ukrainian Air Force Spokesperson Yurii Ihnat noted that the Russian strike package used on Jan. 13 was similar to the strike package that Russian forces used on Jan. 8 and in previous recent strikes—suggesting that Ukrainian forces may be able to discern patterns in recurring Russian strike packages and innovate and adapt accordingly.

Russia launched another mix of long-range weapons at Ukraine on the night of Jan. 12-13, repeating its larger mass strikes from the New Year’s weekend and Jan. 8. These included cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, anti-radiation and repurposed anti-air missiles.

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