The Ukrainian military has admitted lagging far behind Russia in electronic warfare (EW) capabilities as Moscow continues to use kamikaze drones.
Ukraine Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ignat told the country’s telethon news service that invading forces are still “far ahead” of Kyiv in deploying electronic-jamming technologies to intercept incoming drone attacks.
Although Ukraine has effectively used anti-drone weapons, electronic jamming is still considered the most cost-effective way to neutralize unmanned systems.
According to Ignat, disrupting enemy drone signals reduces the need for anti-aircraft missiles or guns, as the drones can simply be paralyzed and forced to land.
“We started late [in deploying EW equipment]. We should have developed earlier,” he said.
‘They Have Enough of These Systems’
Russia has intensified its use of electronic-jamming equipment to take down attacking Ukrainian drones.
As early as 2018, Moscow had reportedly deployed sophisticated electronic warfare systems in rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine.
Back then, the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine claimed to have spotted the Leer-3, Krasukha-2, Bylina, and Repellent-1 EW systems some 64 kilometers (40 miles) southwest of Lugansk.
British military analysts have also observed that Russian jamming in Kyiv has become so effective that even US-made guided weapons no longer hit their targets accurately.
“Russia today has powerful systems that interfere with the work of our defense forces,” Ignat explained. “They have enough of these systems.”
Global Support
For its part, Ukraine has used drone-jamming technologies supplied by Western allies and charitable organizations.
Earlier this year, Israel approved a potential counter-drone system sale to Kyiv.
A Ukrainian company in the Ivano-Frankivsk region has also produced almost 80 ANTIDRON KVSG-3 rifles capable of jamming unmanned platforms used by Russian forces.
The weapons do not directly damage enemy drones but interfere with their connection to operators.