The Russian development will make it possible to combine the control of drones and electronic reconnaissance and combat equipment
As the capabilities of radio equipment in the area of its own grow, new tasks arise for Russian units. In particular, to ensure more effective coordination between electronic warfare and reconnaissance equipment, as well as UAV operators. Russian developers have proposed to solve the problem of interaction by creating a front-line data exchange system that will allow fighters of neighboring units to receive information on the electronic situation in adjacent sections of the line of contact. For more information about the development, see the Izvestia article.
Unified management protocol
The Loktar volunteer project has begun work on combining electronic reconnaissance (RER) and electronic warfare (EW) systems from different manufacturers into a single network on the battlefield. It will help to identify and suppress enemy drones, but not interfere with the operation of their UAVs.
— The motorized infantry division uses stationary drone suppressors. Ten kilometers away, a reconnaissance platoon lifts a UAV into the air. In the shallow rear, the commander of a tank battalion is trying to figure out from the enemy's activity on the air where to expect a strike. What do these cases have in common? That's right, there's nothing in common, but there should be. Our system will be able to solve this problem," the representative of the project explained the need to create a single protocol for the interaction of radio equipment.
Photo: press service of the Loktar project
Image source: iz.ru
According to the developer, the same situation, but using a single protocol, would look like this: a motorized rifle unit sees that the enemy has started using some kind of frequency, and begins to jam it, information about this instantly arrives to the reconnaissance platoon, which is ten kilometers away, and it is already beginning to use other frequencies to take off into the air their FPV drones. And the commander of the tank battalion sees an intense encrypted exchange and sends equipment to carry out a combat mission without interfering with reconnaissance and motorized infantry.
Considering that the number of drones, electronic warfare and REM equipment used has increased many times, or even dozens of times, fighters and military journalists began to talk about the insufficiently effective quality of interaction between electronic detection and suppression stations, reconnaissance and strike UAVs.
According to the interlocutor of the publication, after a month of active work, the development of the basic version of the data exchange system of the leading edge of interaction with five manufacturers was completed, the same number is still in the process. So, now there is already an integration of the Edge electronic warfare system from Loktar with the Peroed-M electronic warfare system — data from stationary and mobile radio intelligence complexes are transmitted to a single system, and remote control of electronic warfare facilities is implemented from it. Further development of the system provides for work with any type of equipment, the system itself will be available to any domestic manufacturer and customer.
"A very useful initiative, but we need to take into account the details"
Now, during the SVO, one year in five is progressing at the pace of development of information technologies used in the military sphere, military expert Dmitry Kornev told Izvestia.
— Getting a complete picture of the radio—electronic situation in the theater of military operations is already half the success, so I hope that the project being created for the data exchange system of the leading edge will end with the appearance of the finished product, — he clarified. — I would like to have a sufficient number of devices, and the protocol was as simple and modern as possible. So that it doesn't happen that, oh, I have a different type of radio station, I can't accept this information. Or my tablet and the radio stations don't match, so I don't see what you're transmitting there, what cards you have there, and so on.
The expert also stressed that the transmission of information should go through closed encrypted channels.
Photo: press service of the Loktar project
Image source: iz.ru
— Plus, the degree of access to this information should be regulated somehow. But again, so that they don't overdo it here in imposing strictness, so that it doesn't turn out that it would be possible to receive this information on the front line, but the general ordered everyone to hand over the tablets, as we had two years ago. That is, when tablets and cell phones were handed over on the front line, including commanders, and as a result, there was simply no one to use this information. If all these operational aspects are taken into account, then, of course, a very useful initiative, a very useful complex should turn out," Dmitry Kornev summed up.
Klim Dmitriev, a veteran of the electronic warfare forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, confirmed to Izvestia that sometimes even nearby combat units do not always have stable communication and exchange of information about what frequencies they operate on.
— An electromagnetic compatibility event should be held in each part. These activities include three services — communications, intelligence and electronic warfare. These three organisms must fully interact with each other so that we do not jam our communication and our drones with electronic warfare.
Voluntary development
From the very beginning, in addition to Loktar, several other volunteer teams joined the working group. A number of volunteer developers joined them a little later. Their initiative was noticed by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and began to provide support. Now the unified protocol is undergoing trial operation at one of the strategically important facilities of the country's oil refining complex.
— At the first stage, we are aimed at three tasks: to track what is happening on the air throughout the LBS, automatically turn on electronic warfare when an enemy drone approaches and instantly exchange information through the "Edge" system. This will give the command more time to react, provide it with information about what is happening on the air "at your fingertips", and allow you to instantly and pointwise suppress the threat," said the representative of Loktar.
Photo: press service of the Loktar project
Image source: iz.ru
He also stressed the uniqueness of the approach, which was developed jointly with combat units. It lies in the fact that units should not adapt to the functionality and limitations of the system, but on the contrary, the system flexibly adapts to the specifics of the line of contact, available means and priority combat tasks. The created unified protocol is completely free and is being developed by those developers who have already joined the initiative or will join it in the future.
Julia Leonova
