The basic science of a front-line jammer is not complicated: a cheap metal box with aerials generates electromagnetic noise to block piloting signals or video feeds. Both sides rely heavily on commercially available Chinese components. But beyond this is a constantly evolving, high-stakes technological arms race. Every eight to 12 weeks sees a major change in either EW or drone practice, says Major Tolstoluzhsky. Both sides switch within a wide frequency spectrum from 200 megahertz to 1,000 megahertz, and above. But the “main race” last year, says Andrey Liscovich of the Ukraine Defence Fund, a non-profit which sources non-lethal aid, was a shift in frequencies down from standard GSM bands—those used by mobile phones—to 300 megahertz, making it trickier to find off-the-shelf components.
The result of these proliferating frequencies is vehicles that resemble steampunk porcupines, bristling with half a dozen antennae to protect against different drones, each drawing significant power.
Defenders also have to know where and when to focus their attention. Using a device which spits out a lot of radio waves not only risks electronic fratricide, but also makes the user a potential target. Knowing when to turn it on, and on which frequency, depends on passive sensors which can triangulate radio emissions from the other side to work out their source. The sensors used early in the war, to spot cheaper Chinese-made drones, are no longer as useful. Some of today’s sensors are in space: Ukraine is using data from satellites built by HawkEye 360, an American firm.
More common is a spectrum analyser, a small $7,000 box, which picks out the different frequencies broadcasting at any time. That information can then direct your jamming. In theory, spectrum analysers could be strung together to create a giant electronic picket to detect emissions all along the front line. That would cost around $10,000 per kilometre of front, estimates Mr Liscovich, perhaps $10m for the entire stretch—a modest amount. The problem, as with so much else in the war, is supply chains. Only three companies in America and Germany build the devices; turnaround times are eight months.
Both sides are also experimenting with cleverer methods. Mr Filimonov describes Azimuth and Mirage, a pair of products: the first picks up signals within 25km and feeds it to the second, which uses software to generate...
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