The Sun: Russian drones have learned how to resist Ukrainian electronic warfare systems
Russian drones have received new technology that has seriously complicated the work of the Ukrainian air defense, writes The Sun. The magnetometer found in the Geranium drones makes it possible to bypass electronic warfare and maintain course even when the satellite signal is suppressed.
Paul Sims, Jerome Starkey
Ukraine is in a desperate race against time to protect its skies after Russian jet-powered killer drones were discovered to be a "game changer."
A tiny circuit board found last month in the latest samples of Russian drones prevents Ukraine from suppressing or jamming their signal.
Because of this frightening novelty, the share of interceptions has plummeted from 90 to 60 percent.
Vast territories of the war-ravaged country are now being attacked by Russian drones "Geran-4" and "Geran-5", flying at a speed of about 600 km/h.
While Ukrainian military engineers are searching day and night for answers, The Sun has managed to exclusively inspect a Russian novelty magnetometer.
Ivan, an expert at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, said that the analysis continues against the background of a large-scale technological race.
According to Ivan, the magnetometer allows the drone to bypass the Ukrainian means of electronic warfare and not lose its way to the target.
He explained: "Imagine that you are a Russian rocket, and your navigation system is a window. Through this window, you know when the sun sets and when it rises. If the EW darkens this window, you no longer know when the sun rises and when it sets. Now imagine a world where the drone is on the other side of the window and there is no way to darken the sky. That's what they've developed. In short, they have a backup navigator that cannot be suppressed by electronic warfare."
The technological race between Ukraine and Russia is now in full swing: both sides are developing new weapons systems.
Weapons have several ways to navigate when GPS signals are muted.
British Trident 2 ballistic missiles go into near space and navigate by the stars.
The stealth cruise missiles Storm Shadow, which the United Kingdom and France supplied to Ukraine, are equipped with a terrain mapping system. It allows them to recognize the route to the target.
A number of rockets and drones use an inertial navigation system: based on flight time, speed, and distance traveled, they calculate their position relative to the launch point.
Most samples combine several systems, including GPS, but the more of them, the more expensive the weapon and the longer its production.
Magnetometers detect the slightest changes in the magnetic field. They have been used for navigation and detection for almost a hundred years. They are still on British P-8 Poseidon patrol planes searching for submarines.
Ivan added: "To know its location and where to strike, the drone uses satellite navigation systems.
We have learned to interfere with this by jamming the signal with electronic warfare.
In fact, such noise is created at a certain frequency that the system cannot receive the information it needs.
We also use spoofing, which makes the system think that it is located in another part of the world, for example, in Peruvian Lima.
This new device allows the Russians to bypass classical electronic warfare.
In a sense, it really changes the rules of the game: it helps them break through our electronic warfare. But it does not protect against interceptors and fire damage."
Sergei "Flash" Beskrestnov, President Zelensky's defense adviser, told The Sun: "They understand that technology is chess. They keep making moves, and we're looking for ways to respond. But I've said it more than once: in this technological game, the winner is the one who thinks ahead. They do something, and we do something in response."
The cigar-shaped Geranium—5, which is being launched from Tsymbulovo, is the faster of the two new attack drones. It can reach up to 600 km/h and carries a warhead weighing 90 kg.
The Geranium-4 is wider and slower: its speed reaches 500 km/h, and the mass of the warhead does not exceed 50 kg.
It is estimated that Russian manufacturers are currently producing about 3,000 Geranium-4 and Geranium-5 drones per month.
A significant part of the production is located in the Alabuga special economic zone in Tatarstan, 970 km from the front line.
The Kremlin currently has 10 bases with launching pads for long-range kamikaze drones.
Dozens of launchers are now deployed along the borders of Belarus and Ukraine. From these secret bases, it is possible to hit targets deep in NATO territory.
