US-made jam-resistant drones helped Ukrainians cut through Russia EW

from Defense One

When Russian jamming neutered the recon drones flown by a group of Ukrainian special operators near Dnipro in August, they turned to a new solution: V-BAT drones built to withstand the massive electronic interference used by both sides in the war in Ukraine. 

“They launched from about 40 kilometers from the front, flew 100 kilometers past the front line of troops and then found these SA-11 surface-to-air missiles [on] 11 Buks, targeted them, called in HIMARS airburst rounds,” said Brandon Tseng, president and co-founder of Shield AI, the San Diego-based maker of the V-BATs. 

That destroyed the SAMs—and, Tseng said, marked a big operational test for the V-BATs: flying, collecting targeting data, and relaying it to artillery units, all in the face of the most sophisticated electronic warfare tactics on earth. 

Ukraine has some drones that can perform well against EW, but they work through autonomy and on-platform computing, good for one-way attack missions with whatever munitions can be squeezed onboard. But the ability to pass data quickly back to a fires solution with real power, like a howitzer or Lockheed Martin HIMARS, is essential to taking out Russian positions. This is what the V-BAT supplied to the Ukrainians, according to Tseng, who witnessed the operation first-hand...

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Russia does use EMP tech to fight Ukraine's drone attacks

          " Yes, Russia is reportedly using Electronic Magnetic Pulse (EMP) technology, specifically through systems like the "Repellent-1", to counter drone attacks in Ukraine by disrupting the electronic signals needed for drone navigation and communication, effectively neutralizing them at a distance.          Key points about Russia's EMP usage against drones:             Disruption mechanism:             EMPs generate a powerful electromagnetic pulse that can interfere with the delicate electronics within drones, causing them to malfunction or lose control.           System examples:         The "Repellent-1" is a known Russian electronic warfare system designed to suppress the operation of drones at a considerable range.           Limitations:         While effective, EMPs can also potentially disrupt other electronic devices within range, raising concerns about collateral damage."

Crashed Azerbaijani plane hit from ground – president

from RT

The passenger jet that crashed in Kazakhstan earlier this week had been struck from the ground near the Russian city of Grozny, Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has claimed.

An Embraer 190, operating as Azerbaijan Airlines flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, diverted to Kazakhstan and crashed on Wednesday, killing 38 of the 67 people on board.

In a Sunday interview with the state-run broadcaster AzTV, Aliyev claimed that the aircraft “was damaged from the outside on Russian territory, near the city of Grozny, and almost got out of control.”

“We are also aware that our aircraft was rendered uncontrollable by electronic warfare means... In addition, the tail section of the plane was severely damaged by fire from the ground,” he said.

Aliyev noted that the exact circumstances of the crash would become known after the data from flight recorders is accessed. However, he insisted that the preliminary versions of the incident “are well founded and based on facts.”...

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Aliyev on Saturday to express his condolences over the deadly plane crash, the Kremlin said in a statement. He offered an apology to his Azeri counterpart for the fact that the incident, which he attributed to a Ukrainian UAV raid, “took place in Russian airspace.”

Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, as well as other cities in the region, “were being attacked by Ukrainian combat drones at the time, and Russian air defenses were repelling those attacks,” the statement read...

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