Ukraine leverages electronic warfare for drone defense success
Ukrainians have deployed electronic warfare measures against the Shaheds. In the latest encounter, 46 drones lost communication due to Ukraine's electronic warfare efforts. This exceeds the number destroyed using conventional methods. Has a new effective strategy against Russian attacks emerged?
27 October 2024 12:44
Every day, 30–40 reconnaissance drones hover over Ukraine, searching for depots and tactical points behind the front line or scouting communication routes. Accompanying them, almost daily, up to a hundred strike drones make their way toward targets in Ukraine.
Destroying them with expensive missiles is uneconomical. To defend against these threats, Ukrainians have created mobile anti-aircraft units – light groups equipped with off-road vehicles and armed with heavy machine guns, even those dating back over a century.
Ukrainian soldiers particularly commend the water-cooled, twin-mounted Maxim machine guns, model 1910/33, which can fire continuously for extended periods. This technology was developed in the USSR for armoured trains and Red Fleet ships in the 1930s. Due to their features, such as belt-fed ammunition and prolonged firing capability, they prove most effective.
Beyond solutions known from the Great War era, Ukrainians employ the latest anti-drone systems. Due to these systems, intercepting small drones, often derived from civilian technology, is not a significant challenge for both sides. Soldiers use special emitters to disrupt the operator's signal, allowing them to force drones to land and be captured upon interception.
An example of such technology is the Lithuanian EDM4S SkyWiper, which Ukrainians call the "orc killer". The Ukrainian Armed Forces possess over a hundred systems of this type. It emits an electromagnetic pulse with a range of about 3–5 kilometres. The simpler the system it neutralises, the greater its range. However, eliminating larger, specialised aircraft is more challenging.
Radio electronic warfare
More complex drones are intercepted with advanced systems typically mounted on off-road vehicles rather than carried by a single soldier. These systems allowed Ukrainians to intercept 46 Shahed 136 drones. During the same attack, 42 drones were shot down using machine guns.
- The primary method of countering drones involves jamming their communication with the operator or taking control by tapping into the aggressor's frequency and feeding it misleading data – explains Zenon Łupina, an expert in electronic defence technologies. This deception allows us to take control of the drone while the enemy believes they are still piloting it.
The effectiveness of these systems depends on numerous factors, including knowledge of the drones' flight paths, previously identified frequencies, and guidance techniques.
- Typically, there are four detection systems: radio, optical, radar, and acoustic. They assist in distinguishing drones from other objects in the sky. This is just the initial stage of UAV neutralisation. On Ukraine's front, American and Polish systems are employed, for instance – explains the expert.
- The efficiency of neutralising drones also relies on the development of drone technology itself, as UAV manufacturers continually evolve, taking into account the increasing capability of anti-drone software. The Polish Hawk system exemplifies this – notes Łupina.
