According to the director of the aerial reconnaissance support center, Maria Berlinskaya, the current level of production of electronic warfare equipment does not satisfy the needs of the front by 5%, although the pace of production has increased significantly.
Ukraine is experiencing a critical shortage of electronic warfare (EW) equipment at the front, forcing the military to rely on volunteers or independently purchase these systems from manufacturers. The Ukrayinska Pravda publication disclosed the details in its article dated April 25.
The publication reports, citing data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, that in the last three months alone, the number of Russian UAVs in the hottest sectors of the front has at least doubled. Electronic warfare systems, capable of jamming enemy communications, reconnaissing targets and transmitting their coordinates to the military, “landing” UAVs, and also countering missile attacks in the rear, help Ukrainians protect themselves from the invasion of enemy drones. However, the publication’s interlocutors point to a shortage of such systems in Ukraine.
The article states that electronic warfare systems can be either small devices that can be installed in trenches or carried with you, or large radar systems. The largest Ukrainian-made complexes are Bukovel and Nota. After the start of a full-scale war, when the intensity of the Russians’ use of UAVs increased significantly, the need arose for more compact systems. Thus, in two years, Ukrainian electronic warfare systems have evolved to “pocket” devices.
According to a soldier from the Achilles attack UAV battalion of the 92nd separate assault brigade with the call sign “Foton”, after the appearance of short-range electronic warfare systems, which are usually called “trench” or portable, on the front, Russian drones became much less likely to reach their targets . In particular, they played an important role during the liberation of Andreevka and Kleshchievka in the Donetsk region.
A marine with the call sign “Orion” told reporters how in October last year a Russian drone attacked three Ukrainian soldiers who were transporting a wounded soldier from the left bank of the Kherson region to the right, without having a portable electronic warfare device with them. According to Orion, all four servicemen were killed.
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At the same time, the publication notes that large electronic warfare systems have not lost their relevance. According to Anatoly Khrapchinsky, deputy general director of the electronic warfare company Piranha Tech, trench electronic warfare equipment is a situational solution to the problem. Ukraine also needs systems that will cover the military from the second or third lines of defense.
It is reported that one of Ukraine’s main achievements in the field of electronic warfare is the Pokrova system, which is capable of distorting satellite signals and misleading the navigation devices of Shahed-type attack drones and even cruise missiles. According to representatives of the military leadership, it works very effectively.
Why the Ukrainian military does not have enough electronic warfare equipment
As the authors of the article note, the production of electronic warfare systems in Ukraine intensified only after the start of a full-scale war. Director of the aerial reconnaissance support center Maria Berlinskaya said in a comment that Ukraine still does not have a systematic state policy for the production of these means. According to her, the current level of production of electronic warfare systems does not meet the needs of the front by 5%. However, she noted that the pace of production of such systems in the country is now faster than ever.
According to Anatoly Khrapchinsky, after the start of the full-scale Russian invasion, the production of electronic warfare equipment in Ukraine increased by 40–50%. Brave1 representative Oleg Donets added that over the course of a year of operation, the platform has united more than 50 manufacturers of electronic warfare equipment, mainly short-range ones. Now the number of developments exceeds 100.
At the same time, the publication notes that at the moment, military personnel are provided with electronic warfare equipment mainly by volunteers. In addition, the fighters themselves buy these systems from manufacturers, since there is no time to wait for the state bureaucratic mechanism to “unwind.”
“The Russians now hardly work on our positions with artillery. They hunt us around the clock with FPV drones. There are so many of these drones that we simply don’t take them out without electronic warfare, and we only have two of them per battalion,” said a fighter who spoke on condition of anonymity. is fighting in the Kupyansk direction.
At the same time, Russia has invested in developing its electronic warfare capabilities over the years and is also upgrading its drones to make them harder to jam. According to Maria Berlinskaya, the Russians have powerful stationary electronic warfare systems and good examples of “trench” electronic warfare systems.
“Unfortunately, Russia is many times ahead of Ukraine,” Berlinskaya noted.
Let us recall that the Kalashnikov concern demonstrated to the Russian Ministry of Defense the Quasimacht equipment lifting system, which, according to the manufacturer, is invulnerable to electronic warfare.
According to Ukrainian Armed Forces serviceman and radio communications specialist Sergei Beskrestnov, the occupiers also use relay drones to bypass Ukrainian electronic warfare systems. Thus, the FPV drone-relay “Ghoul” has already been seen in the Russian arsenal.
