Last fall, it was first revealed that the Pokrova national electronic warfare system was deployed to counter iranian-russian kamikaze drones like the Shahed, and even cruise missiles. Soon after, the first photos of relatively intact "downed" enemy strike drones began to appear online, suggesting the successful use of Ukrainian Defense Forces' electronic warfare systems against this threat.
Ultimately, today it has become typical for reports from the Ukrainian Air Force on repelling enemy attacks to include the presence of electronic warfare units when listing the forces involved in countering enemy air operations. Additionally, reports often mention "drones lost to radar," which may very well be the result of electronic warfare systems in action.
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The work of such units is kept secret for obvious reasons, so the recent video from ArmyTV, where the military offered a glimpse into their operations, is particularly interesting. In the video, soldiers from the Night Watch electronic warfare unit, who specialize in downing Shahed drones and jamming russian aviation, shared some insights.
First, the video shows one of the downed Shahed (Geran-2) drones with the number Ы3591, which sustained minor damage. "It landed here by itself, and the foresters informed us that it was found here. We arrived, called in the sappers, and it was defused. We remove the warhead and pass it on to our military, who send it back," said soldier Dmytro, with the call sign Celentano.
They also show a fragment of one of the Shahed drones with the number MJ005 — the first jet-powered drone to be brought down using electronic warfare. Above the fragment is the wing of a russian Kalibr cruise missile, which was also downed by EW systems. On it, the soldiers seem to record the targets their unit has neutralized, which includes about 30 missiles and over 120 drones.
"Our task is to prevent the enemy from hitting the objects we are protecting. For this, we have combat units that carry out assigned missions, as well as units focused on advanced research of the enemy's equipment and technologies that they use," they explain about the unit's work.
In particular, the soldier Valentin, with the callsign Angel, collects and analyzes the work of enemy systems. Georgiy, with the callsign Frenchman, focuses on mathematical modeling of processes and finding optimal solutions for signal jamming, through both theoretical analysis and building mathematical models for implementation.
The unit highlights that, as of today, they can achieve 100% effectiveness against Shaheds. They create specific "zones" where Shaheds cannot hit their targets, and this also applies to other types of weaponry. Additionally, the unit's tasks include providing cover for frontline units.
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