Abel Flores’ Post

The most important statement in this article is: “Since then, however, Ukraine has only employed them in a limited fashion and has not made combined arms warfare part of its operations, the defense official said.” Yes the character of war has changed. No the tank is not dead, however future employment may be different than current doctrine. Combined Arms Maneuver is essential to overall success and survival in ground combat. We must learn to mask effectively in multiple spectrums.

Emerging as a cost-effective solution to counter enemy surface-to-air missile systems (SAMs), loitering munitions are characterized by their lightweight design and versatility. They can be deployed en masse from different launch platforms and locations. With capabilities for mid-course correction and precise targeting, they minimize collateral damage and offer enhanced mission flexibility. Integrating intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) functions, along with targeted strike capabilities and flexible deployment options, these weapons represent a significant advancement in multi-domain warfare.

Russian electronic warfare has created problems for some #American-made precision weaponry in #Ukraine, but Moscow is also showing its hand and telling the #US what it needs solutions for to be ready for future fights. Ukraine has employed US precision weapons, such as the #HIMARS-fired Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and air-launched Joint Direct Attack Munitions, throughout the war, but widespread Russian electronic warfare is regularly diminishing the effectiveness of these weapons. Lt. Gen. Antonio Aguto, who's serving as the commander of Security Assistance Group-Ukraine, addressed the problem in December, saying electronic warfare directed at some of the US's "most precise capabilities" was "a challenge." Other US officials have identified these issues as well, adding that the US and Ukraine were working on solutions. Any fixes developed to effectively counter the challenge posed by electronic warfare won't just benefit Ukraine. They're also set to help the US solve problems it has long been concerned about as it prepares for the possibility of great-power conflict. Mark Cancian, a retired United States Marine Corps colonel who's a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explained to Business Insider that "the widespread GPS spoofing we see in Ukraine adds urgency to solving a problem DoD has long recognized: that wartime spoofing will reduce the effectiveness of its weapons." Electronic warfare can be executed using cheap but effective technology, and both sides of the war are using it extensively. And these tactics are not used solely to foil precision-guided munitions. They can also be used to scramble the connection between an operator and a reconnaissance or strike drone. Electronic warfare is a broad term that includes a variety of inexpensive options. Thomas Withington, an expert in electronic warfare and air defense who's an associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, said jamming was relatively straightforward, explaining to BI that it involved "blasting a GNSS receiver with noise to cause it to lose the position, navigation, and timing signal that it received from the satellite." Spoofing, on the other hand, involves sending false GNSS information to the weapon's navigation system, sending it off course or trajectory. Jamming is easier and can be done with cheaper equipment and engineers, while spoofing is likely to be used in more specific instances, such as hiding locations from the enemy. Both serve different purposes, but in either case, the effects can be deeply problematic for precision weaponry. Ukraine has managed to adapt to the challenge, in some cases, by engaging in jamming of its own or locating Russian electronic-warfare sites and destroying them. Relying on alternative systems that don't depend on GPS or use other guidance systems, such as an inertial guidance system, helps bypass the problem. That's not always an option, though.

Cue yet another raft of shallow essays declaiming the demise of the main battle tank. But let's not be so hasty. Tanks have always been vulnerable absent adequate, layered support from infantry and air defenses, not to mention defensive electronic warfare and intelligence support. Tanks are not and never have been an independent solution to any military problem. The changing character of warfare necessitates improvements and adaptions to counter novel threats to armor, to be sure - but there's still not much that can counter a properly supported, well-coordinated armor offensive. Don't count the Abrams or any other MBT out, yet. #warfare #ukraine #defense #nationalsecurity #intelligencecommunity

The world is locked in a high-stakes arms race, modern warfare is constantly evolving, and laser weapons are set to redefine frontlines. Nations worldwide are developing laser-directed energy weapons (LDEWs) capable of missions in the air, on land, and at sea as an alternative to costly missile-based air defense systems. Military defense developers are determined to establish laser use in weaponry for several reasons. LDEWs can engage targets at the speed of light, defeating threats faster than the time it took to read this sentence. Its intense beam can cut through a target, leading to structural failure or destruction. Lasers have been used in industrial processes for several years to cut, heat, vaporize, melt, and burn a variety of materials. The US has been testing LDEWs for decades and have been fitted onto several warships for trials and evaluation. A key advantage of LDEWs is that the laser has an infinite magazine that can keep firing as long as there is electricity, but guns and cannons that fire missiles have a finite amount of ammunition. And these are often costly. The Aster 30 missile that arms the SAMP-T air-defense system costs around $2 million per missile. Though hugely effective, it's one of the most expensive missiles in the world. However, LDEWs operate at an extremely low cost for a single shot, some just a few dollars, others, almost nothing. Russia continues to threaten Ukraine with low-cost weaponized drones and aircraft that launch sizeable attacks against civilian and military objects, and LDEWs are being specifically for these kinds of targets. “Low-cost drones and rockets have swung the economic calculus of offense and defense in favor of those using large volumes of cheap unmanned systems and munitions to overwhelm more sophisticated air and missile defenses,” James Black, assistant director of defense and security for the RAND Europe think tank said. #LDEW https://lnkd.in/eusaxdtm

Some great footage of cluster munitions being implemented perfectly by Ukraine Armed Forces against Russian forces inside Kursk, Russia. Cluster munitions are designed to be implemented with multiple rounds simultaneously to over-penetrate an area. This has a multiplier effect by destroying all armor, vehicles, personnel, generators, fuel, ammo and weapons. Russian forces can’t relieve or withdraw with drone surveillance calling in precision cluster munitions. With enough cluster munitions Ukraine can win back to ‘91 borders.

USAF's Quicksink weapon tears a ship in half in seconds The US Air Force has released video of a ship being ripped in half to demonstrate its new Quicksink weapon, which turns an inexpensive dumb bomb into a precision anti-ship missile – and which lives up to its name in spectacular fashion. Modern weapon systems are amazingly effective, with the ability for a single small warhead to take out a small target that one time would have required a carpet bombing raid or a heavy artillery barrage. Unfortunately, they're also expensive and with the current geopolitical situation suggesting a return to large-scale peer-to-near-peer conflicts, cheaper alternatives that are easier to stockpile have become more attractive. One example of this is anti-ship weapons. The go-to weapon for this is a torpedo like the US Type 46 torpedo that can deliver 96.8 lb (43.9 kg) of high-explosive PBXN-103 to the target and destroy it by exploding under its keel, breaking the ship's back. Unfortunately, there are a couple of problems. For one thing, the type 46 costs US$1.2 million per shot. For another, firing one gives away the presence of the attacking submarine. Then there's the fact that even the fastest submarine has a limited ability to intercept targets over a large area. With the US and its allies facing the problem of keeping the peace in the huge Indo-Pacific region, the ideal solution would be a weapon that can be deployed quickly over long distances and doesn't cost an arm and a leg. That means an anti-ship weapon that can be delivered by the US Air Force. Being developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory Munitions Directorate at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Quicksink is designed to be carried by both fighter planes and bombers. It's essentially a variant of the JDAM system that turns dumb iron bombs into smart munitions by providing a kit that straps onto the bomb to give it airfoils and a guidance system. Quicksink is similar to a variant for delivering sea mines to precise locations except that this one has a laser sensor that straps to the bomb's nose that allows it to zero in on surface vessels that are either stationary or moving. Using a modular, open-architecture design based on existing technology, Quicksink is able to deliver the lethality of a torpedo at a cost of only US$300,000 per round. Using a stealth fighter or bomber to deliver it as a standoff weapon, it can strike more targets over a greater range than any submarine can. One drawback that some have pointed out is that as a glide bomb, Quicksink has a flight range of only 40 nm (46 miles, 74 km) and that this makes the attacking aircraft vulnerable to anti-aircraft defenses. However, Quicksink is designed to be dropped from stealthy aircraft flying at high speed and altitude. More importantly, its intended targets are unaccompanied ships that may be carrying contraband or are acting as disguised missile platforms that will not have the defenses of a warship.

The PLA has made great strides in developing highly advanced electronic warfare (EW) system of systems complex, which "vastly exceed those of the Russian military and probably even the US military" today. The PLA's EW complex consists of a mix of land, sea, air, and space-based crewed and uncrewed electronic attack platforms, anti-radiation missiles, high-energy lasers and microwave weapons to disrupt and confuse or damage and destroy enemy systems. In addition, the PLA has developed space-based electronic attack capabilities, such as “experimental on-orbit jamming systems” and road-mobile satellite jamming equipment. Taken together, the PLA's EW complex poses a major challenge to the US military in the region, with rapidly growing capability to disrupt and destroy US' military's 'eyes and ears', including radars, datalinks and communication systems in the theatre, while protecting its own. https://lnkd.in/dqm5g8HK

"Epirus, an American startup that specializes in high-powered microwave weapons, said it could have some of its systems fielded in the Middle East by the summer if the U.S. Army gives the go-ahead, and 10 by the end of the year." The recent Iranian attack on Israel vividly highlights the need for more cost-effective weapons to defeat drones. Epirus offers not only lower cost per kill, but also unlimited magazine depth with the ability to defeat swarms. #HPM #directedenergy https://lnkd.in/enWZ8P6J

Arlington portfolio company BlueHalo's laser air defense systems are officially being used by the U.S. Army to protect U.S. troops abroad. CEO Jonathan Moneymaker recently sat down with Fast Company to discuss the deployment of the new system. “Myself and Arlington Capital Partners, our financial sponsor . . . we wanted to lead the transformation of global defense,” Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo, tells Fast Company. “We were coming out of a couple decades focused, appropriately so, on counterterrorism as a mission, and a lot of that came at the expense of technologies or capabilities that would be more relevant in the rise of peer conflict with China, Russia, et cetera.” Read more at the link below. #arlingtoncapital #defensetech #govtregulatedindustries https://lnkd.in/e5veU_XS