- Russian jamming is a major source of frustration for Ukraine because it affects communications and weapons.
- As a countermeasure, Ukraine has taken several steps to develop new war technology.
- This summer, the country hosted a hackathon to seek technology to combat Iranian-made drones.
To combat Russia’s growing supply of Iranian-made suicide drones that are wreaking havoc in Ukraine’s cities, the Ukrainian government has come up with a plan: organize a hackathon.
According to Ukraine, the competition held in June offered a $1 million contract to companies that could create “alternative systems” to combat Iran’s Shahed drones. Ministry of Digital Transformation.
This event is just one way Ukraine is taking cues from Silicon Valley – the world’s technology center – to fight the more invisible but highly effective electronic warfare that Russia is waging to disrupt Ukraine’s communications and weapons systems.
In electronic warfare, jamming technology can be used to disable drones, suppress radar signals and render GPS-guided missiles useless.
Both countries are engaged in electronic warfare, but Ukraine’s capabilities are more difficult to assess, the Associated Press reported last year.
The United States has previously expressed concerns that Russia is deploying jamming technology to reduce the accuracy of American-made smart bombs.
British think tank the Royal United Services Institute also said in a May report that Ukraine could be losing 10,000 drones a month, mostly due to jamming.
The effects of Russia’s electronic warfare have made the rapid search for and development of technological countermeasures a priority for the Ukrainian government.
The winners of this year’s hackathon in the country have not been publicly disclosed, but the funding will allow manufacturers to quickly implement new technologies to combat Shahed drones in the field, The new voice of Ukraine reported.
In October, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov announced that a new radio that was resistant to Russian interference had been developed and had already been sent to the front lines.
The radio was produced by Himera Tech, which is part of the Ukrainian government’s incubator working on the development of new military technologies.
Other Ukrainian companies have sought to respond to Russian electronic warfare
In September, IT company Cosmolot said it had developed a new version of Ukraine’s highly effective “Punisher” attack drone that is immune to Russian jamming.
Yarem, a Ukrainian soldier involved in the work on Punisher, has already been talked about before The new voice of Ukrainethat it is important to develop technology that is resistant to electronic warfare.
“Now, thanks to the Punisher, we have an advantage over the enemy,” he said.
