Ukraine appears to strike a powerful electronic warfare system previously dubbed the 'backbone' of Russia's EW technology

A R-330BMV vehicle and Borisoglebsk-2 EW system. Russian Ministry of Defense

• Ukraine said it struck a powerful  Russian electronic warfare system this week.
• Footage appears to show it had destroyed a Borisoglebsk-2 EW jamming station.
• EW has become increasingly important in the current conflict.

Ukraine’s special operations forces (SSO) said on Wednesday that it had targeted a Russian Borisoglebsk-2 electronic warfare (EW) system.

A video shared on the special forces’ Telegram channel appears to show a drone striking the system, which Russian news agency Tass described in 2017 as the “technical backbone” of Russia’s EW technology.

The SSO’s post said that the system was destroyed in the drone strike after troops from the 3rd SSO Regiment had spotted it during a reconnaissance mission in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine.

Business Insider was unable to independently verify the location or time of the footage.

The Borisoglebsk-2 is an automated jamming system used to detect, analyze, and suppress high-frequency and very high-frequency radio communications, the International Centre for Defence and Security (ICDS) think tank said in a 2017 report. It has the ability to control four jamming units from a single command point.

The website Army Recognition called the Borisoglebsk-2 a “cornerstone of the Russian Army’s electronic warfare arsenal.”

The SSO said that the EW system was first used against Ukraine in 2014 during Russia’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula.

Electronic warfare, which uses the electromagnetic spectrum to disrupt and degrade an enemy’s ability to use signals like radio and infrared, has become crucial in the current conflict as each side looks to neutralize the other’s attack and reconnaissance drone capabilities, which have been a key feature of the 25-month-long war.

Russia has maintained a significant lead in EW capabilities, although it has seemingly been reluctant to deploy such systems on the front lines.

There have been signs that that is beginning to change, however, with recent reports of Ukraine striking and capturing a Russian tank that was fitted with a makeshift EW system.

Both sides are also now seeking to use AI to bypass EW defenses, developing AI-powered drones that can locate and lock on to targets without communicating with an operator — meaning electronic warfare systems are rendered redundant.

“You cannot jam such a drone because there is nothing to jam,” one Ukrainian drone pilot from the 92nd brigade told Reuters.

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