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Signal Jammers Can Stop Russian Drones — But How Do They Work?
Within the coming days, the United States and its NATO allies will begin delivery of hundreds of signal-jammers to Ukraine so it can counter Iranian-made suicide drones.
I wrote about these suicide drones last month, when Russia initially took delivery of hundreds of Shahed 171, 129, and 191 drones and sent them to the front lines in Ukraine.
As I noted in a more recent article, Russia has almost used up all their advanced munitions.
As a result, they are relying more on purchased suicide drones from Iran to terrorize Ukrainian civilians.
But soon, Ukraine will have a powerful tool to counter Russia’s recent drone swarm tactics.
How do signal jammers work?
Unlike cruise missiles and other advanced munitions, drones need to be guided by an operator. If one can disrupt the conversation between the drone and its controller on the ground, the drone usually falls out of the sky.
When locked onto a drone, the drone jammer disrupts the GPS and radio signals guiding it by blasting a bunch of electromagnetic noise at the same frequencies that drones use to operate.
Most commercial jammers are effective up to 400 meters (1,312 feet) away and deploy their signal in a 30-degree cone.
But military jammers can be much more powerful.
The U.S. military has been using the “Dronebuster.”
I know — great name, right?
The U.S. Air Force bought 100 Dronebusters for its security forces back in 2017.
The Dronebuster, or something very close to it, is likely what Ukraine will be receiving in the next few days.
It’s a 21-inch handheld device shaped like a pistol, that weighs only 4.1 lbs. (1.9 kg for my EU readers).
Its battery can provide 3+ hours of continuous jamming or 10+ hours in radio frequency detection mode — a listening…
