British firm updating Ukraine drones to foil Russian EW hacking, allowing safe deployment – Reuters
British engineers are working on technology that will help keep Ukrainian surveillance drones in the sky even after Russia tries to jam them with electronic warfare, reported Reuters with reference to Mike Dewhirst, chief executive of Evolve Dynamics.
Specialists of the Evolve Dynamics company focus on the development of technology that would protect Ukrainian drones from Russian electronic warfare devices. By developing alternative radio communication algorithms, engineers seek to complicate the process of jamming the signal of reconnaissance drones.
This is an important part of international efforts by Ukraine's allies to support its drone program. Kyiv hopes that this will give it an advantage over an aggressor that has far more resources at its disposal.
Ukraine and Russia have increased the deployment of EW systems that can disrupt the frequencies that transmit commands from the pilot to the drone, causing it to fall, Reuters notes.
"It's a constant ping pong game between adversaries," said Evolve Dynamics CEO Mike Dewhirst.
Last month, Dewhirst said, one unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine requested changes to its technology to make it safer for the operator. The company sent instructions and the military unit was able to accept the update within 24 hours of the request.
"We're adding technology to existing drones, modifying them. It might be a software change, a hardware change," said Dewhirst.
At this time Evolve Dynamics has about 100 Sky Mantis reconnaissance drones, which are used by Ukraine. This makes the company one of the largest British suppliers of drones to the Armed Forces. The Ukrainian military also receives spare parts and software updates from Evolve Dynamics, Reuters writes.
Britain is the largest supplier of drones to Ukraine and is working with Latvia to lead a European coalition to increase production.
On March 7, it was reported that London will provide Kyiv with 10,000 drones of various types.
On March 22, Britain announced a new aid package for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which includes reconnaissance drones and the provision of air defense systems.