AC-130 gunship disabled

US Air Force Special Operations Command AC-130 gunships operating over Syria have been disabled by electronic attack, General Raymond Thomas, commander of US Special Operations Command, said at a conference in Tampa Florida on April 26. He described the conflict in Syria as providing “the most aggressive electronic warfare environment on the planet”. This statement follows reports that Russia has succeeded in jamming US UAVs operating over Syria. While the electronic attack apparently did not cause the loss of an aircraft, it is the first open-source mention of US military aircraft experiencing, and being vulnerable to, electronic attack, as opposed to jamming and meaconing, in the current conflict. The report also underlines that Russia is able to collect intelligence on US and coalition aircraft and their capabilities by observing operations in the region. David C Isby