The Russian military is jamming U.S. military drones operating over Syria, creating problems for American operations, according to a new report.
Four U.S. officials told NBC News that the Russians began jamming smaller U.S. drones several weeks ago, after multiple suspected chemical weapons attacks perpetrated by the Syrian government on civilians in Syria's rebel-held eastern Ghouta.
Russia, which supports the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, was concerned that the U.S. would retaliate for the attacks with military force, so it began jamming the GPS systems of drones operating in the area.
Jamming involves blocking or scrambling a drone's reception of a signal from a GPS satellite.
Drones play a vital role in gathering intelligence in war-torn Syria, where it can be difficult to obtain reliable information on the ground.
Pentagon spokesman Eric Pahon told NBC News that the U.S. military has the means to protect its drones.
"The U.S. military maintains sufficient countermeasures and protections to ensure the safety of our manned and unmanned aircraft, our forces, and the missions they support," he said.
Republican Sen. Ben Sasse (Neb.) castigated Russia in a statement reacting to the news that the Russians are jamming U.S. drones.
"It is insane to think that Russia is anything but an adversary," he said. "Americans want to kill ISIS and prevent the normalization of chemical weapons attacks against innocent families—Russia wants to undermine our interests at every turn."
"[Russian President Vladimir] Putin is already waging a shadow war with the United States, but too many American politicians are asleep on the watch," Sasse continued.
If a drone's GPS signals are jammed, it can lead to major problems, including crashes. The Department of Defense would not say whether the jamming is causing drones to crash, but one official confirmed to NBC News that the tactic is having "an operational impact on U.S. military operations in Syria."
So far, only smaller surveillance drone have been affected, rather than larger Predators and Reapers that can be armed and often operate in combat environments.