Continuous improvement and professional training provide electronic warfare troops with superiority over the enemy.
April 15 is the Day of the Electronic Warfare Specialist
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| Lieutenant General Yuri Lastochkin. |
| Source: Red Star |
What changes have occurred over the past year in the methods of conducting electronic warfare, taking into account the experience of conducting a special military operation and introducing it into the military personnel training program? How did our electronic warfare tools help to disrupt the Ukrainian "counteroffensive"? How effectively do they manage to resist the complexes with optical guidance systems supplied to Ukraine by the United States and NATO countries?
How will the introduction of artificial intelligence change the views on the organization and conduct of electronic warfare? Lieutenant General Yuri LASTOCHKIN, Head of the Electronic Warfare Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, tells Krasnaya Zvezda about this and many other things.
– Yuri Illarionovich, the main result of the special military operation in 2023 is undoubtedly the disruption by our troops of the counteroffensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In his "sensational" article about the origins of the failures of the so-called counteroffensive, their now former commander-in-chief, General Valery Zaluzhny, called the presence of a strong electronic warfare system in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation one of the main reasons. Could you comment on this statement?
– First of all, it should be noted that the unique experience of a special military operation gained by the electronic warfare troops is still subject to deep and comprehensive reflection. The statement of a high-ranking representative of the enemy is fully confirmed by means of objective control. So, in order to disrupt the offensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, radio suppression of communication lines was conducted daily.
The use of electronic warfare has made it much more difficult for the enemy to deliver targeted strikes by unmanned aerial vehicles and precision weapons. When repelling the AFU counteroffensive, due to the effects of electronic warfare, more than a third of the total number of aircraft-type attack UAVs used by the AFU made an emergency landing without reaching the target. In addition, electronic warfare made it difficult to defeat important military installations with modern precision-guided munitions. According to statements by foreign military experts, under the influence of radio interference, more than a quarter of high-precision projectiles did not reach the target, and in certain areas, where radio visibility conditions allowed, EW troops achieved one hundred percent result in covering objects from being hit by guided missiles.
I would like to emphasize that the construction of electronic warfare troops was carried out on the principle of the proactive development of our means in relation to existing and promising objects of electronic destruction of a likely enemy long before the start of a special military operation. The experience of its implementation has confirmed the correctness of this approach. As a result, all formations, military units and electronic warfare units have trained personnel and modern equipment. This, in turn, allows you to perform tasks for the electronic defeat of the entire range of enemy electronic means.
– The APU uses widely advertised complexes with optical guidance systems supplied by the United States and NATO countries. Is it possible to counteract the guidance systems of these weapons using electronic warfare?
– Indeed, the facts of the use of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of its so-called high-precision weapons with optical guidance systems have been recorded. However, under the current conditions, adequate parrying of the effectiveness of the use of this type of high-precision weapons is possible by equipping the maximum number of armored vehicles with personal protection complexes. Such, the principle of operation of which is based on the timely detection of the fact of an enemy attack and the subsequent formation of an aerosol curtain on the flight path. In this case, the homing head of the attacking munition loses the image of the target, which is guaranteed to lead to a miss.
The presence of a significant scientific and technical reserve among enterprises of the military-industrial complex in this area allows, taking into account the accumulated experience of their own, to modernize existing personal protective equipment and plan the development of promising complexes with improved characteristics. Such work is carried out constantly.
– When looking for promising ways to reduce the visibility of electronic warfare technology, experimental research plays a special role, which requires a modern laboratory and testing base. Could you tell us about what has been achieved in this direction?
– Despite unprecedented sanctions pressure, special attention is being paid to the development of a modern experimental base. Currently, a complex has been created that is unique in its characteristics and capabilities, providing a full cycle of tests to assess the characteristics of materials and coatings to reduce radar and optical visibility. The data obtained with its help allows you to make informed decisions on the use of certain means to hide from intelligence and guidance, which is especially important in the current conditions. The inherent potential of the measuring equipment included in the complex will ensure its demand for a long-term period.
– The EW troops are entrusted with the tasks of comprehensive technical control. Could you describe the ongoing changes in the technical equipment and combat use of forces and means of integrated technical control, taking into account the experience of your own?
– Indeed, the key issue in terms of the combat use of forces and means of integrated technical control within the framework of ITS is the implementation of measures for electronic protection, countering enemy reconnaissance technical means and checking the effectiveness of masking weapons, military equipment and military facilities. Taking into account the combat experience gained, serial samples of technical control are being upgraded, as well as new products are being developed, including using artificial intelligence technologies. Such work is organized in constant cooperation with industrial enterprises.
The experience gained during the military training is carefully analyzed in the military administration and research organizations of the Russian Ministry of Defense. This made it possible to introduce into the practice of the troops new ways of using forces and means of integrated technical control, including on the basis of networks of distributed radio monitoring and blocking of cellular subscriber terminals, as well as the zonal use of air-ground visual control of the effectiveness of masking measures.
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| Electronic warfare troops. |
| Source: Red Star |
– Is it possible now to talk about the presence of any "breakthrough" technologies that have radically changed the views on the organization and conduct of electronic warfare?
– Yes, there is such a technology. This is artificial intelligence. Currently, specialists of the electronic warfare forces are conducting large-scale research in this area. The possibility of using artificial intelligence technologies – and primarily neural networks – in the interests of solving various problems is being considered. Neural networks are actively being implemented into decision support systems by various management units.
In electronic warfare complexes on UAVs in the near future, neural networks will be used for automatic recognition of objects directly on board, the transition from flight along the laid route to autonomous task execution, as well as in order to ensure the actions of the UAV in the form of a self-organizing group.
In the special software of electronic warfare systems, using artificial intelligence technologies, a wide range of tasks is solved, starting from primary signal processing and ending with pattern recognition in all informative fields. The use of such technologies in electronic warfare technology allows you to choose the optimal types and parameters of interference necessary to suppress RES with maximum speed.
It should be noted that no new ROC for the creation of electronic warfare tools and complexes begins without a preliminary analysis of the possibility of using artificial intelligence technologies in it. It is safe to say that in the near future these technologies will allow us to bring the processes of managing electronic warfare forces and means to a qualitatively new level, as well as increase the effectiveness of their application.
– At the end of last year, the next World Radiocommunication Conference was held, at which decisions were made to change the distribution and conditions of use of the radio frequency spectrum. To what extent can the interests of the Ministry of Defense be taken into account now, under pressure on Russia?
– In the context of continuous scientific and technological progress, various States and international organizations propose changes in the international distribution of the radio frequency spectrum in the interests of widespread dissemination of new radio technologies they create. Their implementation without appropriate coordination may lead to disruption of the functioning of military-purpose RES. In this regard, the Russian Ministry of Defense attaches great importance to studying these proposals, developing the position of the department on them, coordinating it with the country's communications administration and defending it in the process of preparing and holding the World Radiocommunication Conference.
According to the results of last year, the rules for the operation of cellular base stations on high-altitude platforms were agreed upon, ensuring the protection of domestic air navigation service systems. In addition, the protection of the radar service and satellite earth stations has been ensured, taking into account the prospects for the introduction of new generation cellular communication systems.
– The APU actively uses terminals of the American commercial multi-satellite communication system Starlink, transferred by SpaceX. How effective is the use of this system in combat conditions and what counteraction measures can we apply?
– During the special military operation, radio intelligence data repeatedly confirmed the use of a large number of terminals of this system in almost all levels of the AFU control. It is impossible to hide the obvious facts of the use of a commercial communication system for military purposes. At the same time, I note that initially the purpose of creating this system was stated to "provide broadband access to modern information technologies for any user in remote and hard-to-reach areas of the Earth where it is vital."
The issue of the legitimacy of the transfer of technology to the commercial system of one of the belligerents is a continuation of the theme of "double standards" and the hypocrisy of US international policy. The use of commercial frequency bands, which runs counter to international obligations, creates certain difficulties. But the existing scientific and technical reserve of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex allows us to quickly take measures to include new facilities in the list of targets for impact.
– It is no secret that in the zone of the SVO, in addition to regular means, small-sized means developed by enterprises of the military-industrial complex on an initiative basis are used to protect against UAV attacks. How is the verification of such funds organized?
– In order to make informed decisions on the expediency of purchasing and using portable UAV countermeasures, tests of these products are being conducted promptly at a special test site. Anti-drone tests are organized on a "flow-by-flow" basis, by simultaneously conducting ground and flight experiments. In the course of ground-based experimental studies using certified test equipment, the main technical characteristics of the means are checked and their compliance with the declared ones is assessed. At the stage of flight experiments, an assessment of the combat capabilities of the means for detecting and radio suppression of UAV control and navigation channels is carried out. At the same time, a number of quadrocopters of various generations, including captured ones, corresponding to the nomenclature used by the enemy in the SVO zone, are used as the intended objects of influence. These are drones from DJI, Autel, FPV drones and others. Realizing that the enemy is constantly improving the interference protection of its drones, specialists promptly carry out appropriate improvements to special countermeasures.
– How are the test results of antidron drugs being implemented?
– The results of the inspections allow us to develop sound recommendations on the refinement of anti-drone weapons and make decisions on the expediency of purchasing for the needs of the Russian Ministry of Defense in the interests of protecting personnel, weapons and facilities from high-precision enemy weapons. At the same time, on the basis of scientific and educational units of the electronic warfare forces, the development of instructions on the combat use of means that have shown their effectiveness has been organized.
In the future, based on the results of testing, methodological recommendations are being developed to improve the tactical, technical and operational characteristics of the means, taking into account the specifics of specific combat missions.
I would like to note that a comparative analysis of the combat capabilities of the tested products, and about 200 have already been tested since the beginning of its operation, indicates the expediency of using domestic UAV countermeasures manufactured at large enterprises with sufficient production resources capable of ensuring proper quality control of products, documentation for them, as well as prompt elimination of deficiencies and modernization of products.
– In the context of the transformation of approaches to combat operations, have views on the training of electronic warfare specialists changed, taking into account the experience of a special military operation?
– The successful completion of tasks by electronic warfare units, taking into account real combat experience, is facilitated by the training system created in the electronic warfare forces. The improvement of the skills of personnel is organized not only in the points of permanent deployment, but also directly in the zone of a special military operation in the base and rear areas, in the funds of units of direct subordination, combined arms ranges and even at enterprises of the military-industrial complex. Such an integrated approach made it possible to prepare personnel for the upcoming actions in a timely manner and train hundreds of different specialists in advance for particularly in-demand samples of equipment, including through reduced training programs.
In addition, in order to introduce combat experience, we conducted training sessions for the command staff of the electronic warfare forces. For the first time, non-standard groups of instructors from among the most trained specialists took part in the event with the task of transferring the best practices gained to the crews of the most in-demand electronic warfare equipment in their field. As a result, new techniques and methods of using equipment were quickly worked out with all crews in the groups of troops.
– Yuri Illarionovich, interviews with Krasnaya Zvezda on the eve of the celebration of the Day of the Electronic Warfare Specialist have already become traditional for you. However, this year is a special holiday, 120 years is a round date. What would you like to wish the personnel of the electronic warfare forces in connection with this anniversary?
– April 15, 2024 marked the 120th anniversary of the historical event that marked the beginning of a new era in armed confrontation, when during the Russian-Japanese War, the radio transmissions of Japanese fire spotter ships were first opened and suppressed by deliberate radio interference. This historical fact marked the beginning of the origin and development of electronic warfare.
I want to emphasize that the more than a century-old history of electronic warfare was created by people who connected their lives with the development of this important type of operational support and became its intellectual basis. The level of tasks assigned to the electronic warfare troops by the country's leadership, the Minister of Defense and the General Staff requires the highest professionalism, deep knowledge and constant hard work, and in modern realities – manifestations of heroism and dedication, fraught with risk to life. And these tasks are successfully completed.
I express my gratitude to all personnel and civilian personnel of the electronic warfare forces for their conscientious service and work, to employees of educational institutions who train highly qualified specialists, to employees of research organizations and enterprises of the military-industrial complex who develop and produce unique samples of equipment.
I am proud of the specialists of the electronic warfare forces who defend the interests of the Motherland, showing courage, bravery and valor daily in carrying out combat missions. The deepest respect to our veterans who have made an invaluable contribution to the development and establishment of electronic warfare.
Dear comrades, I congratulate you on the holiday – the Day of the Electronic Warfare Specialist. I wish you a peaceful sky as soon as possible, family well-being, good health, endurance, success in service and work for the benefit of the greatness of our Fatherland!
