A new electronic warfare system has been detected on Shahed-136 («Geran-2») attack drones — it operates against Ukrainian interceptor drones. The first case of such interception was described by presidential adviser on defense technology development and radio engineer Serhii «Flash» Beskrestnov.
According to Beskrestnov‘s account, a Ukrainian interceptor drone homes in on a Shahed using a video transmitter: the pilot on the ground sees the onboard picture in real time and uses it to guide the attack. When the interceptor closes to a sufficient distance, the EW receiver on the Shahed detects the signal of that video channel and immediately activates its own transmitter on the same frequency. Since the power of the onboard EW system is many times greater than the transmitter power of the small drone, the image on the pilot’s screen disappears.
The expert also provided photographic evidence: according to him, antennas operating in the 5.8 GHz band — the exact frequency used by most Ukrainian interceptors to transmit video — have appeared on images of downed Shaheds. Beskrestnov noted that interceptor drone manufacturers are already aware of this new threat and are preparing new EW countermeasures.
This is not the first time Shahed designers have added electronic protection. Previously, a «Kometa» unit appeared on the drones — it protects the drone’s navigation from the effects of Ukrainian EW systems and operates on the basis of a digital adaptive antenna array that significantly reduces the effectiveness of external interference with the satellite signal.
Meanwhile, another frequency race continues: a new frequency band for mesh modems has been detected on Shaheds and «Gerbars», which the adversary is using in an attempt to bypass Ukrainian EW.
Among possible countermeasures, industry sources mention a transition to digital encrypted video systems — such channels encode the video stream in digital format and transmit it via a powerful video transmitter. Another avenue is classifying technical documentation regarding the operating frequencies of interceptors.
