Ukraine has introduced a new tool to bolster defenses in its ongoing war with Russia.
Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, who also serves as the country's deputy prime minister, said in a post to Telegram on Tuesday that Kyiv's latest tool to jam Russian FPV (first-person-view) drones was "already actively used by the Ukrainian military."
Fedorov said that the tripod-mounted "AD Counter FPV" system was developed by members of the Ukrainian Brave1 research program, which was launched by Ukraine in April as part of an effort to accelerate the development of military technology.
The portable system works by jamming radio communications between the Russian drones and their operators in less than a second. Fedorov said that the system weighed less 6.6 pounds, and could be installed on vehicles.
"The system generates white noise in the 850-940 MHz radio frequency range, and the FPV drone loses contact with the operator and becomes uncontrollable," said Fedorov. "The radius of operation is from 250 meters (820 feet), even if the distance between the drone and the drone operator is 3,000 m (9,842 feet)."
"The system starts working quickly after turning on, it takes no more than 0.5 seconds," he added. "The developers created another modification of the AD Counter FPV—in the form of a backpack. It is also actively used by the military, it has proven itself as an indispensable item."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Tuesday.
Drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), have played a key role during the Russia-Ukraine war, with Ukraine having heavily relied on its so-called "army of drones" throughout most of the conflict.
Kyiv was losing around 10,000 UAVs every month as of last year, including kamikaze drones, loitering munitions and reconnaissance drones, according to British think tank Royal United Services Institute.
Drones produced domestically and donated to Ukraine by allies have still taken a heavy toll on Russian forces and equipment on the battlefield, while also being used to strike targets inside Russian territory.
Russia has been stepping up its own drone program to the point of wiping out what was once a significant advantage for Ukraine, making Kyiv's countermeasures even more important.
Fedorov told Newsweek last month that it was difficult for Ukraine "to compete with Russia on quantity," as Moscow has much more money to develop and produce its drones.
In addition to increasing domestic production, Russia has used a large number of Iranian "Shahed" drones in airstrikes on Ukraine, although Ukraine claims to have successfully destroyed a high percentage of the drones.
An upgraded jet-powered version of the Iranian-designed UAVs, the Shahed-238, is expected to prove more challenging for Ukrainian air defenses to shoot down.
Recent reports on Russian military Telegram channels claimed that one of Moscow's best pilots of FPV kamikaze drones, known by the call sign "Moses," was killed in southern Ukraine last week.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
