Ukraine’s Electronic Warfare Disrupts Russian Bombs and Drones, Weakening Moscow’s Air Strikes
In a recent interview with Der Spiegel, former Ukrainian commander-in-chief Valeriy Zaluzhny highlighted Ukraine’s progress in electronic warfare, particularly in developing systems to counter Russian jamming signals. Zaluzhnyi emphasized the need for international support to expand the production of these countermeasures. The Ukrainian army has achieved a significant milestone in electronic warfare by effectively intercepting Russian guided ordnance systems, particularly glide bombs. This breakthrough disrupts the satellite-guided navigation of these weapons, causing them to veer off course and miss their intended targets. Reports suggest that the Russian military now requires 16 glide bombs to achieve the same effect as it would have from one bomb, underscoring the effectiveness of Ukraine’s jamming techniques.
Russia also uses jamming, but it is reportedly less effective than Ukraine’s. Many Russian jammers are poorly made and do not work well. In addition, Russian industry has failed to develop any countermeasures against Ukraine’s electronic warfare tactics. To combat Ukrainian jamming, the Russian military has attempted to change the frequencies of its satellite-guided bombs and add more antennas, sometimes increasing them from four to twelve. However, these efforts have not significantly improved their accuracy, giving Ukraine a major edge in electronic warfare.
Ukrainian jamming also caused Russian bombs to fall on their own territory. According to the manufacturer, some glide bombs failed to reach Ukraine and instead fell inside Russia or in occupied territories. Although glide bombs are relatively cheap, costing $25,000 each, the Sukhoi jets that launch them are expensive, sending four jets to hit just one target is risky and inefficient, especially since Russia has only 1,000 modern jets and has already lost 120 in the war.
Night Watch is a Ukrainian team specializing in electronic warfare (EW) and drone countermeasures. They have developed advanced jamming systems, including the “Lima” jammer, which disrupts Russian glide bombs, drones, and other guided munitions by interfering with their satellite navigation (GLONASS). Night Watch initially focused on jamming Shahed attack drones that frequently target Ukrainian cities. Over time, their technology has evolved to counter Russia’s aerial threats more effectively, their innovations have been a game-changer in Ukraine’s defense strategy.
Radio jamming is a key element of Ukraine’s air defense systems, alongside missiles systems such as the S-300, Patriot and SAMP/T. These missile systems can engage Russian jets from long range, but are too few in number to fully defend the front lines and cities. Jamming technology is now proving to be a more effective and reliable defense against Russian air threats.