Posted on 08/19/2025 6:36:52 AM PDT by lasereye
With too many drones in the air and only so many radio frequencies, Ukrainian soldiers sometimes jam their own drones trying to stop Russian ones, Business Insider learned.
Dimko Zhluktenko, a drone operator with Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces who has operated strike and reconnaissance drones, told Business Insider that his unit was recently the victim of friendly electronic warfare, or just EW.
He said it's something that often happens with the big reconnaissance drones that both sides use because many of Ukraine's drones "use the same frequencies that enemy drones use." That's been the case, for instance, with Russia's Zala recon and strike drones and Ukraine's Shark reconnaissance drones.
"When friendly EW tries to jam Zala, it also jams Shark," he said.
Ukraine uses the Shark to identify targets that other Ukrainian weaponry can then destroy, including Russian artillery convoys, and Russia uses its Zala to identify Ukrainian targets and attack Ukrainian assets like tanks and artillery.
The Shark drone is developed by Ukrainian company Ukrspecsystems.
The huge volume of drones used in Russia's invasion of Ukraine has resulted in an electronic warfare battle, with jamming and more flooding frequencies with noise, cutting connections, and confusing enemy drones, frustrating operators attempting to use them for strikes and surveillance. It's fueled new developments in EW, as well as efforts to get around electronic warfare, such as fiber-optic drones and AI-enabled systems.
Zhluktenko said there are so many drones in the sky that Ukrainian soldiers have to try to coordinate when they fly drones, to try to avoid the accidental jamming of their own side's drones.
As Western militaries look to adopt small drones in new ways, concerns about battlefield confusion are a priority. Combat footage from Ukraine has shown troops frantically questioning if the drone buzzing overhead is on their side.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Anti-aircraft measures that can take out friendly craft as well as the enemy’s? Gee, that sounds like WW2 or even WW1, maybe even Viet Nam. Tell me something new and surprising.
Baseband spread spectrum take care of that.
I am sure this Dimko fellow is going to let himself be quoted in international media pointing out flaws in his country’s national defense.
Russia and China are leading in drone technology, even our DOD knows this. They also know both their manufacturing capabilities are the largest in the world ( for now).
I’m retired USAF. As an Army Air Defense Soldier told me,
“If it flies it dies.”
I said, “Gulp!”
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