On August 10, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires in Uruguay Jennifer Savage delivered a donation worth more than $2.6 million for the Uruguayan Army’s peacekeeping operations. The donation included 21 radio frequency jammers to prevent attacks with remotely triggered explosive devices. Funding for the donation came from the U.S. Department of State’s Global Peace Operations Initiative (GPOI) program.
The Army received the radio frequency jammers from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), during a ceremony at the 2nd Communications Support and Services Battalion.
“Prior to the ceremony, we received the visit of a delegation of technical instructors from the United States and the Republic of Bulgaria, who conducted training for that equipment, called operation and installation of frequency jammers,” the Uruguayan Army reported in a statement.
The donation is in addition to other deliveries, including interceptor boats, vehicles, aircraft spare parts, and a Bell 212 Twin Huey helicopter, which will take place in the coming months, the defense and security news portal Infodefensa.com reported.
“It is essential for our troops’ protection, especially in circumstances in which the threat has the ability to operate improvised explosive devices remotely; the jammers prevent their remote activation, and that saves lives,” Army Colonel Pedro Gómez, deputy chief of the Uruguayan Army Institutional Communications Department, told Diálogo.
The officer added that the Army will use the jammers under the provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) in the Golan Heights, Syria, where Uruguay has deployed more than 100 blue helmets.
“Their most common use is on radio frequency signals of cellular technologies, but they can affect any type of technology that operates in their operating bands,” said Col. Gomez.
For his part, Savage highlighted the equipment’s importance for the safety of blue helmets. “More than 140 peacekeeping mission professionals have been victims of this type of remote attack around the world. We want to ensure that no Uruguayan joins this tragic list,” she concluded.