Iran has enough power to force landing of UAV more advanced than MQ-9
After Iran announced the successful landing of an MQ-9, the West has more reason to look at Tehran with curiosity about electronic warfare.
Al-Masdar News recently published an article about the role of Iran's electronic warfare (EW) network in the recent MQ-9 capture. The article argues that if Tehran's statement about this incident is confirmed by the US, which devices in the Iranian armed forces' inventory contributed to the feat?
According to the latest information, Iran has developed three different EW systems on its own, including an electronic warfare system, a radar signal simulation system RST and a satellite signal jamming system.
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All these devices were developed by Iranian engineers, said Farzad Ismaili, commander of the Khatam-ol-Anbiya military base, adding that electronic warfare is one of the most important areas for Iran's defense system.
The source added that, along with the self-developed systems, Russia has transferred to Iran a mobile electronic warfare system 1L222 Avtobaza. This is an automatic jamming system on various types of emission signals.
1L222 Avtobaza has a maximum range of 150km, maximum altitude of 30km, the system is capable of detecting signals in the frequency range of 8-17.5Mhz. The system is capable of managing over 60 targets.
However, the fact that the 1L222 Avtobaza system can force the MQ-9 to land still poses a big unanswered question despite the system being very sophisticated. This system is capable of jamming satellite signals, simulating signals of radar waves from ground control stations, causing interference to the enemy's control and navigation systems.
In addition, the system is also capable of countering enemy electronic warfare systems, ensuring that the Iranian armed forces' equipment operates well in a strong electronic warfare environment.
The system is also deployed on several Iranian Navy warships to enhance combat and defense capabilities. The technical specifications of these systems are hardly disclosed, which makes the system's capabilities a big mystery.
Looking at the amount of electronic warfare equipment that Iran possesses, forcing the MQ-9 and previously the RQ-170 to land using electronic warfare seems not to be easy.
During the 2003 Iraq war, the army of the Saddam Hussein regime used a lot of GPS jamming equipment to deflect many American missiles. However, for a high-end UAV like the MQ-9, jamming is a difficult job.
According to the manufacturer Lockheed Martin, these UAVs are designed to operate in two different modes, either manually controlled from a ground station or in automatic mode. In addition, detecting the control frequency of the UAV system is not simple, and the US's secure signal transmission fields are always encrypted to enhance security.
Although the 1L222 Avtobaza system may not be the real culprit that forced the MQ-9 to land, the truth is that Iran has in its hands the US MQ-9 heavy unmanned attack aircraft. And just this information is enough to show that the US UAV force has a big gap before the power of Iran's high-tech weapons.
