Intervening on 24 April 2018 at the GEOINT 2018 Symposium, General Raymond A. Thomas III (Commander-in-Chief of Special Operations (USSOCOM)), has revealed the extent of the e-war between the United States and “the enemy” (Russia understood).

He considers “the enemy” is succeeding in disrupting or systematically disabling the US systems in Syria making it impossible for the Pentagon to survey the combat zone. During the tripartite attack of 14 April, the Russian army succeeded in hacking the GPS transmissions with the effect that some missiles were diverted. Worse still, the systems for friend/enemy recognition have stopped working. In these conditions, using planes for surveillance was not only a waste of time but also dangerous.