Russia has been jamming American drones over Syria in an effort to interfere with military operations, four U.S. officials told NBC News.
The effort comes weeks after a series of suspected chemical weapons attacks were unleashed upon civilians in Syria under President Bashar al Assad's regime, which is backed by Russia.
The poison gas attack in the rebel held eastern Ghouta allegedly killed 40 people, rescuers and medics in the town of Douma said, according to The Daily Mail.
Concerned that the U.S. would respond with an attack, Russian military allegedly resorted to scrambling the GPS systems of smaller drones operating in the area.
President Donald Trump has addressed suspected chemical weapon attacks in Syria, which he described as “barbaric” and “heinous,” stating that he would decide on a response within the next few days after Russia warned US military action would be met with repercussions, Sky News noted.
The tension continues to mount but Dr. Todd Humphreys, the director of the Radionavigation Laboratory at the University of Texas at Austin, told NBC News that Russian military were first caught jamming drones four years ago in eastern Ukraine, following the Crimea invasion.
The tactic hampered intelligence gathering from the air by grounding an entire fleet of the United Nations’ surveillance drones for days.
The Defense Department has not confirmed whether remote jamming is the cause of drones crashing in the area.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon said in a statement that the U.S. military “maintains sufficient countermeasures and protections” to ensure the safety of its manned and unmanned aircraft, forces and the missions they support, NBC noted.
However, one official said the efforts were impacting U.S. military operations in Syria by affecting smaller surveillance drones.
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