The Ukrainian Armed Forces “blinded” the Russian army and caught the enemy by surprise in the Kursk region, – Forbes

Russian drones needed for target identification and artillery guidance, as well as FPV, were unable to function.

The rapid Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region took Russia and Western analysts by surprise. In a few days, Ukrainian troops captured more territory than the Russians had in several months. The success appears to have been achieved by mastering a new style of warfare, writes Forbes.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces have reportedly disabled Russia’s network of aircraft-type reconnaissance drones, effectively blinding the command. This may have been done with the help of new FPV interceptors linked to air defense radars.

Secondly, during the temporary shutdown of surveillance, short-range jammers were deployed to the front line. They were programmed based on data previously received from electronic warfare intelligence.

“They learned the main frequencies of our border radio networks, drone control frequencies, and prepared powerful jammers that suppressed our communications,” writes a Russian blogger quoted by WarTranslated.

This was possible because the area was considered low-priority and was not equipped with the latest equipment. In Ukraine, the drone war against jammers has become a constant arms race, with new jammers appearing for every step taken to evade jamming frequencies. It appears that the drones in this sector were not up to modern standards.

As a result, Russian drones needed for target identification and artillery guidance, as well as FPV, were unable to function. Even the dangerous Lancet loitering munitions were partially affected.

Drones are the primary means of stopping armored attacks. Recent data suggests they account for two-thirds or more of tank destruction, and video footage shows entire armored assault forces being knocked out one by one by successive FPV strikes long before they reach enemy positions.

By concentrating sufficient jamming capabilities in the Kursk sector, Ukraine neutralized Russian drones, allowing its armored vehicles to cross open territory without being destroyed.

“But how did they cope with Russian troops dug in behind defensive lines that had been built for two years?” analysts ask.

Drone Blitzkrieg

Ukraine has filled the skies with its own drones, “a constant barrage of precision-guided UAVs flying in swarms.”

OSINT analyst Roy notes that in recent weeks, Ukraine has used powerful drone bombs to punch holes in the top cover of Russian trenches and dugouts. Experienced FPV pilots can fly through these holes and clear the trench below.

Perhaps significantly, some of the footage shows Ukraine’s new dive-bomber drones. While quadcopter-mounted dive bombers have been seen before, these look like fixed-wing drones with a longer range and heavier payload. This is a clear echo of the original Blitzkrieg concept, in which dive bombers provided close support to ground troops.

Once the trenches were cleared, new Ukrainian units of attack aircraft would quickly move in to occupy and consolidate the empty positions, following closely behind the drones. Jammers would then be deployed, and the entire process would be repeated for the next phase of the offensive.

Russian military commentators have called on their forces to “cover the skies” with VT-40 drones and stop the “Kursk invasion.”

The VT-40 drone, created by the volunteer group “Sudoplatov”, is manufactured under contract with the Ministry of Defense and is produced in huge quantities. But the main drawback of this drone is that the manufacturers are slow to update the control frequencies, so after a while they can be easily jammed. It seems that this is exactly what happened in this case.

The Russians are well aware of this vulnerability to electronic warfare, and have developed new semi-autonomous FPV drones with optical guidance. These allow the operator to spot a target at a distance and continue to move toward it despite interference. But these drones have not yet been deployed in large numbers, and none have likely been deployed to low-priority areas such as the Kursk defensive line.

“This opens a window of opportunity in which jamming can be successful and ensure drone dominance long enough for a breakthrough. Once semi-autonomous and autonomous drones become commonplace or use jam-resistant technologies like fiber optic cable, clearing the skies will no longer be so easy. But there may be another approach. It appears that mobile warfare is still possible once drones dominate the skies. And while jamming may not work, more kinetic approaches – direct drone-on-drone attacks – are becoming increasingly feasible, just as the original Blitzkrieg needed control of the skies to avoid being stopped by enemy air attack,” the article says.

Drone air power could be a vital component of a modern version, and success in suppressing enemy drones could mean the difference between success and failure of an assault.

(C)UNIAN 2024