Russia displayed electronic warfare capabilities when jamming navigation systems in the Middle East to counter rebel UAVs to US fighters.

"The aircraft passing through the Middle East, especially around Syrian airspace, have encountered a situation where the Global Positioning System (GPS) displays the wrong location or stops working altogether," the Times of Israel said. know in the article in the middle of last year.

The Israeli Aviation Administration (IAA) said in June 2019 that flights to and from Ben Gurion International Airport, a suburb of Tel Aviv, have been having problems with GPS systems for three consecutive weeks. , forcing pilots to use the older navigational system.

Israeli media accused the Russian military of being behind the incident, arguing that electronic warfare systems deployed at the Hmeymim air base in Syria, 350 km away, were the culprits.

Russian ambassador to Israel Anatoly Viktorov called the allegations "fake news" and "could not respond seriously". The Israeli military also declined to comment on the cause of the GPS system's paralysis, confirming its operation was not affected.

Military experts say the GPS disruption in Israel is not Russia's deliberate act, but partly shows the extent of the interference caused by the Russian military.

"It does not seem to be targeting Israel, it is only suffering unintended losses when the Russian military protects soldiers and shows dominance in the field of electronic warfare," said Professor Todd Hymphreys studying Texas, USA stated point of view.

The Pentagon has deployed F-22, F-35 fighters to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from early 2019 in response to Iran's military moves. "This jamming activity could also prevent Washington from gathering intelligence and reconnaissance in response to potential attacks from Tehran," military expert David Ax warned.

"Moscow is seeking to thwart Western military aircraft, including the F-22 stealth fighter and the F-35 super fighter, as well as disabling the rebel's own unmanned unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Syria, "wrote Arie Egozi on the Breaking Defense military news site.

The terrestrial GPS systems remained normal during this period, with only equipment on the aircraft affected. "The target of jamming is very specific, showing that this is not a technical problem of onboard hardware but the result of electronic weapons. Russia has invested heavily in systems that can transmit GPS signals. 500 times stronger than real satellites, causing devices to deviate to kilometers ", Egozi added.

Russia is deploying several electronic warfare cooperation groups in Syria, most notably Krasukha-4. This system has a range of up to 300 km, integrating the best electronic warfare technologies of Russia, especially the unique antenna developed from SPN-30 jamming radio.

It is capable of fully automatic operation, the crew only need to monitor the device without direct manipulation. Krasukha-4's proactive jammer can cut communication or take control of an enemy UAV from a distance, before they can threaten the target.

The Krasukha-4 is designed to protect the headquarters, troop gathering points, air defense systems, military facilities, and critical industries against enemy precision aerial systems and weapons. Krasukha-4's active jammer can "blind" advanced US and NATO electronic sensor complexes, including ground-based radar and early warning aircraft and air command.

Its high range allows Krasukha-4 to disrupt the satellite's signal in orbit, as well as to damage many of its electronic radios.

This is not the first time that Moscow has been accused of disrupting GPS signals. Norway and Finland in 2018 also accused Russia of crippling GPS systems during NATO's Trident Juncture exercise in Northern Europe. Moscow denies that these allegations are baseless.