Russia's 'invisible weapon' challenges Ukraine's army
Electronic warfare (EW) has emerged as an effective countermeasure to the widespread use of cheap unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in combat by the Russian and Ukrainian militaries.
Drone operators in the skies over Ukraine regularly encounter invisible shields that cause them to lose control of their aircraft due to signal disconnections. In the conflict in Ukraine, electronic warfare (EW) has not only jammed and disrupted UAVs, but also impacted conventional weapons.
The Ukrainian special forces unit responsible for the Typhoon UAV told Business Insider that the “invisible war against EW” makes UAV conflicts much more complicated for those who operate the devices.
EW is involved in many combat operations in the electromagnetic field. For example, devices that jam radio frequencies with noise, block signals, and GPS systems. Therefore, EW is an effective countermeasure against the low-cost UAVs used by Russia and Ukraine in combat.
However, UAV technology is also constantly evolving with the appearance of fiber-optic UAVs recently used by the Russian military. These UAVs can maintain stable connections in active EW environments.
In fact, EW affects not only the operations of UAVs, but also the precision weapons transferred to Ukraine by the West and the US. US officials describe Russian EW as an emerging challenge that requires finding new solutions to prevent not only the conflict in Ukraine, but also future conflicts.
For its part, Ukraine’s Typhoon unit believes that countering EW plays a “key role in modern warfare.” EW also forces Ukrainian UAV units to do more before deploying attack or reconnaissance UAVs. In addition, Ukraine has also developed its own EW technologies to counter Russian UAVs and missiles.
Typhoon revealed that its UAV operators “must constantly analyze and adapt to the electronic environment on the front line, detect gaps in the coverage of the enemy jamming system and adjust the UAV accordingly.” In addition to adapting to the Russian jamming system, Ukraine also locates and destroys enemy EW deployment sites.
During the Russia-Ukraine conflict, jamming has proven to be one of the prominent measures to neutralize UAVs. Because increasing jamming in certain areas of the front line will prevent many UAVs from reaching their intended targets.
In the Ukrainian military, each brigade has its own UAV operating division focused on detecting, jamming, and disrupting Russian command, communications, and EW systems.
Typhoon said its UAV operators are involved in signal analysis, changing the UAV’s operating frequency, as well as deploying countermeasures – these are “essential invisible ingredients” for successful UAV control.
Founded in 2024, Typhoon is a prominent player in Ukraine’s efforts to expand the development and use of UAVs. Typhoon says that countering EW is an ongoing process that sometimes requires new strategies.
“This remains a challenge, as adversaries continue to analyze UAV frequencies, and upgrade jamming technology to adapt,” Typhoon concluded.