'Every trench' in Ukraine needs a close-range electronic warfare shield against drones and other threats, top official says

Ukrainian soldiers stand near a portable device designed to counter FPV drones during a presentation on March 19, 2024 in Ukraine. Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

• Both Russia and Ukraine are relying on electronic warfare in the ongoing fighting.
• Investing in such capabilities is crucial because the battlefield is full of threats, from drones to precision munitions. 
• One senior Ukrainian official said "every trench" needs tools for close-range electronic warfare.

Russia and Ukraine have relied heavily on electronic warfare tactics throughout the conflict, leaning on cheap — but highly effective — technology to interfere with the targeting process of precision strike weapons like attack drones and guided munitions.

With the battlefield full of such threats, especially the drones that threaten anything that moves, the need for electronic warfare systems is tremendous. One senior Ukrainian official said Kyiv has invested extensively in pumping out these capabilities so that they can be sent to front-line forces.

"In terms of the development of EW systems, we are now doing the same thing we did with drones: scaling domestic production," explained Mykhailo Fedorov, Ukraine's minister of digital transformation, in translated remarks shared with Business Insider.

"To do so, we've started by identifying production needs, capabilities, and challenges," he said, adding, "We liberate the conditions so more private companies can engage, produce, and compete. And it's working. We already see results."

A Ukrainian soldier installs an electronic-warfare system antenna to listen to Russian chatter at the front line near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region, on Jan. 29, 2024. AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky

Electronic warfare includes a variety of tools, practices, and techniques designed to interfere with communications, drown out frequencies in noise, and disrupt satellite navigation system information, potentially severing the connection between a drone and its operator or throwing a weapon off course.

"Different EW tools are needed to conduct strategic missions, but there is also a huge need for so-called 'close-range' EW," Fedorov said. "In other words, every trench needs its EW device."

Acting on this urgency, Kyiv purchased 2,000 units of close-range electronic-warfare devices during the spring with the help of UNITED24, a Ukrainian government initiative that has fueled Kyiv's war efforts by raising money to purchase weaponry. Fedorov said "this market is developing very quickly."

Close-range electronic-warfare systems would be particularly useful against enemy drones, specifically the small quadcopters that conduct reconnaissance and strike missions. These drones have been a dominant force on the battlefield.

Both Russia and Ukraine have used explosive-laden first-person-view drones as a cheap way to deliver precision strikes on enemy personnel, equipment, armor, and positions — including in trenches, where some of the most brutal combat has taken place.

Ukrainian soldiers of the 22nd Infantry Brigade are seen in tactical trench training in the direction of the Chasiv Yar, in the Donetsk region, on June 8, 2024. Photo by Jose Colon/Anadolu via Getty Images

Fedorov said the pace of the technology war in Ukraine is very fast, and new developments have short production and life cycles.

This trend especially impacts drones, he said, because there is a constant need to adapt these systems to current electronic-warfare conditions and look for more efficient ways to use them on the battlefield.

"Technology itself is important, but usage of technology has huge impact," Fedorov said. "You can have the best drone, but what's the sense if it can't fly under electronic warfare?"

Partner nations like the US are taking note of Ukraine's achievements in the field. For instance, at a media event last month, Doug Bush, the US Army's acquisition chief, touted Kyiv as a "very sophisticated, highly effective electronic-warfare force."

"They're doing pretty amazing things — some with our help, some on their own," Bush added. "So it's a constant back-and-forth."

A Ukrainian FPV drone pilot of the 24th Mechanized Brigade trains on Dec. 19, 2023 in the Donetsk region. Photo by Khrystyna Lutsyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

The US is also closely studying the application of electronic warfare in the conflict and trying to draw lessons for itself as the Pentagon looks to see what sort of adjustments it may need to make for a future fight against a great-power adversary like Russia or China.

"What we have seen in the Ukraine-Russia conflict is more EW than we have ever seen before," said Col. Nicole Petrucci, a US Space Force commander, at an April event, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine.

"We've actually been studying this very carefully to see what's going on to see how we can help or not help — and that is unofficially, just because we're trying to see what was the environment like," Petrucci added.

Meanwhile, having observed the drone war in Ukraine, the US military has set up training courses to teach service members how to use close-range electronic warfare systems — like the ones Fedorov mentioned — to engage small unmanned systems on the battlefield.

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