If the Iraqis are using Russian-made Global Positioning System (GPS) jammers, they're having no effect on the American air campaign, U.S. military officials claimed.
"The White House said Monday it had 'credible evidence' of Russian companies selling Iraq night-vision goggles, anti-tank weapons, and technology to jam satellite signals that U.S.-led forces could use to guide bombs and military aircraft," notes AFP.
According to the Washington Post, those firms include Aviaconversiya, which sells GPS jamming gear, and KBP Tula, which makes anti-tank missiles.
Russians officials have called the charges "completely baseless," according to CNN.
If the sales did go down, they're not interfering with American communication or bombing runs, U.S. Major General Stanley McChrystal said.
"In fact, we have been aware for some time of the possibility of GPS jammers being fielded, and what we found is, through testing and through actual practice now, that they are not having a negative effect on the air campaign at this point."
THERE'S MORE: While American GPS-directed bombs have a backup guidance system, StrategyPage wonders whether that backup -- with accuracy up to 100 feet -- is good enough for urban warfare. That could be the difference between a military target and a hospital, the website notes.
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