The intelligence provided by the United States and NATO could prove more lethal than any weapon NATO or other countries sent to Ukraine against Russia.
Two incidents revealed last week confirmed the role of US intelligence in the Ukraine war. The first information revealed that the United States provided some intelligence that allowed the Ukrainian armed forces to target and destroy Russian command posts, from which a large number of Russian generals were killed.
The second incident was the flow of American information related to the sinking of the cruiser Moskva of the Black Sea Fleet. According to 19fortyfive, the administration of US President Biden does not appear to officially acknowledge US involvement in this submarine disaster, but officials in the intelligence community are clearly open to reporters when it comes to suggestions refer to the case.
The reports obtained to date are very vague about how the data provided by the US matches the information systems of the Ukrainian armed forces. For maximum efficiency, data is quickly distributed to frontline units who can use this intelligence before it becomes obsolete. In war, with the right information but the wrong time, the result is still wrong. “We do not know to what extent the US communicates information to its partners on the Ukrainian side,” commented 19fortyfive.
Over the past several decades, the United States has built an impressive array of systems designed to sift information out of complex space and turn it into actionable intelligence.
The current military intelligence system has existed since the 1970s (with precursors even going back to World War I). However, the system has been honed during the War on Terror, to track the movements and activities of small units and even individuals in both large open spaces and complex urban environments. The system collects information from satellites, interceptors, electromagnetic spectrum, cyberspace, drones, and other aircraft as they become available.
This system represents half of what has been called a reconnaissance attack complex, allowing to see the target that the gunmen will destroy later. It is the most modern incarnation run by ground combat since the last days of World War I.
According to the assessment, the US surveillance system is superior to the Russian system, and the Biden administration has essentially put this system to work in helping the Ukrainians fight against Russian forces.
The importance of informing in high-intensity warfare cannot literally be overemphasized and the US can try to find the loopholes of Russian military power and help the Ukrainians deal high damage to Russian forces.
There is no doubt that there is a synergy between the surveillance systems and weapons that the US and other countries have transferred to Ukraine. Intelligence was able to identify weakly guarded armored columns that could be attacked and destroyed with Javelin missiles.
Soon, Ukrainian long-range artillery pieces delivered by the US will be able to hit important Russian military targets from miles away. Information gathered from the US can be validated and integrated with video footage provided by TB2 drones, facilitating more lethal attacks on Russian forces.
In particular, this system will be more effective when the weather in Ukraine is clear, US satellites can provide more information about the movement and deployment of Russian troops. But of course, there are dangers in all of this.
Providing intelligence to Ukrainian troops on the ground does not mean that the United States is going to war with Russia in any legal form of the term, but it does mean that the United States is deeply involved in the conflict in the arguably more important way is the transfer of large amounts of military equipment to Ukraine. Basically, the US is saying to the Russian soldiers “we see you and we can kill you”. But, it remains to be seen how the Russians will respond to the US.