The "Inquisitors of the 59th Legion" group of attack UAV operators has shared a video of how they allegedly destroyed two Serp-VS5 electronic warfare systems, designed specifically for detection and jamming of unmanned aerial vehicles. The soldiers of this unit, belonging to the 59th Motorized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, find it "symbolic that a drone found this EW, and then another drone broke it apart."
A Ukrainian radio electronics and electronic warfare specialist Serhii Beskrestnov, known as Serhii Flash, said he received the video prior to the publication and he is "70% sure" these antennas are indeed the novel russian C-UAS jammer.
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The Sepr-VS5 was revealed in February 2023, and the first videos from field testing appeared in March. Later in December, there was already a modernized version called Serp-VS5D.
According to the system's declared specifications, Serp-VS5 can suppress signals connecting the drone to its operator and satellite navigation in a 5 km range at direct visibility of the target, in an angle of view divided into four sectors of 90°. The upgraded Serp-VS5D is said to have an optional 360° horizontal view mode. Power consumption is 550 W from a standard 220V grid. The system can interfere with multiple channels simultaneously, in four frequencies ranging from 900 MHz to 5.8 GHz.
The equipment is said to be capable of disabling either swarms or individual aerial vehicles; independent targeting allows allied russian UAVs to properly work in the jammer's area of effect.
These particular Serp-VS5 antennas, destroyed by Ukrainian forces, were spotted 12 km from the frontline in the rear of the russian invasion forces, covering a stationary military object. None of the Serp-VS5 systems were recorded as destroyed previously, marking potentially the first loss of this equipment by the russian army.
That said, it is not the first time russian anti-drone developments fail to protect even themselves against Ukrainian attack UAVs. Previously, Defense Express noted the same about the RLK-MC-A complex and showed how russia's best counter-drone missile system, the Tor-M1, gets hit with an FPV Drone.
Read more: Newly Developed Identification Friend or Foe System Will Save russian Drones From Allied Air Defenses
