- Russian jamming is a major source of frustration for Ukraine as it impacts comms and weapons.
- As a countermeasure, Ukraine has taken several steps to develop new warfare tech.
- This summer, the country hosted a hackathon to seek out technology that can fight Iranian-made drones.
To combat Russia’s increasing supply of Iranian-made suicide drones that have wreaked havoc on cities in Ukraine, the Ukrainian government devised a plan: Host a hackathon.
The competition, which took place in June, offered a $1 million contract to companies that could create “alternative systems” to counter the Iranian-made Shahed drones, according to Ukraine’s Ministry of Digital Transformation.
The event is just one way Ukraine has been taking cues from Silicon Valley — the world’s tech hub — to fight the more invisible but highly effective electronic warfare that Russia has been waging to jam 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 harder to assess, The Associated Press reported last year.
The US has previously expressed concerns that Russia has been deploying jamming technology to reduce the accuracy of American-made smart bombs.
The Royal United Services Institute, a UK think tank, also stated in a May report that Ukraine could be losing 10,000 drones a month mostly due to jamming.
The impacts of Russia’s electronic warfare have made quickly seeking and developing technological countermeasures a priority for the Ukrainian government.
The winners of the country’s hackathon this year have not been publicly disclosed, but the funding will allow for manufacturers to quickly implement the 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 had been developed that is immune to Russian jamming and had already been sent out to the frontlines.
The radio was made by Himera Tech which is part of the Ukrainian government’s incubator working to develop new military tech.
Other Ukrainian companies have scrambled to respond to Russia’s electronic warfare
Cosmolot, an IT company, said in September that it had developed a new iteration of Ukraine’s highly effective “Punisher” attack drone that is resistant to Russian jamming.
Yarema, a Ukrainian soldier involved in the development of the Punisher, previously told The New Voice of Ukraine, that it was crucial to develop technology resistant to electronic warfare.
“Now, thanks to Punisher, we have an advantage over the enemy,” he said.
