© U.S. Air Force
The commander of US Special Operations complained during a recent speech in Florida that electronic weapons are "disabling" US aircraft flying in Syrian airspace.
"Right now in Syria we are operating in the most aggressive [electronic warfare] environment on the planet from our adversaries," General Raymond Thomas said during a speaking engagement at the US Geospatial Intelligence Foundation on Tuesday.
"They are testing us everyday, knocking our communications down, disabling our EC-130s, etc." the general said, referring to the US Air Force's Compass Call electronic attack aircraft, Breaking Defense reported. Some reporters attending the event heard the general say AC-130. These gunships also used in US special ops and have at least one electronic warfare officer on their flight crew lists, according to a US Air Force fact sheet.
It's not clear who exactly Thomas meant when he said "enemies," but
Russia is known to have developed advanced EW capabilities, according to EW specialist Lauri Buckhout, a retired US Army colonel. "The Russians have redone and reengineered their entire EW fleet in the last 20 years... The Russians put in millions on upgrades after Georgia," the veteran told Breaking Defense, in reference to the 2008 conflict in the South Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, which Georgia claims as part of its territory but whose self-determination Russia supports.
Comment: The OPCW also confirms no chemical weapons were used in Douma, yet the Intercept and the MSM maintain that these witnesses are part of a Russian 'conspiracy theory'. ABC News reports: And the Intercept reports: No available reports confirm that the OPCW actually objected to witnesses speaking at the Hague. The Intercept also ignores the fact that the chemical weapons inspectors are only in Syria because they were invited by Russian and Syrian forces.