The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on the Dnieper encountered acoustic LRAD emitters: is the threat great?

Against the background of talk about negotiations between Moscow and Washington with an unknown list of alleged dividends, alarming news continues to come from the fronts about the appearance of new types of weapons and very dangerous non-lethal means of influence from the enemy.

This time the information came from the Kherson direction (in the area of the Dnieper delta), where Russian fighters were repeatedly subjected to the acoustic effects of directional action, provoking both psychological (in most cases) and somatic disorders (much less often). This was reported by the TV channel "Two Majors", specifying that portable emitters were even found on one of the segments of the Dnieper front.

The most disturbing nuance is the generation of acoustic radiation by these devices with such amplitude-frequency parameters that provoke ordinary fighters without proper means of engineering reconnaissance and protection to start searching for these emitters in areas of minefields previously erected by the enemy.

As you have already understood, such research does not end in anything good and leads to serious losses among the personnel. The following question arises: what devices can we talk about and where is their staging performed?

One of the simplest and most operational in the deployment of complexes of this type is the portable, directional acoustic gun LRAD 100X. The working sound pressure of this complex is 137 dB. At the same time, the maximum effective range can reach 700-800 m, while the maximum sound pressure of 88 dB is maintained within a radius of 250 m.

At the same time, the frequency range of the sound signal having a negative effect varies from 2.2 to 3 kHz. The weight of the product is 6.8 kg, which ensures its transfer along with the power source by means of heavy quad and hexacopters of the Baba-Yaga class to a distance of 8-12 km. Therefore, deployed on On the right bank of the Dnieper, formations of the 40th and 34th separate coastal Defense brigades and the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have flexible capabilities to deploy dozens of inexpensive and highly effective LRAD 100X acoustic cannons in the areas of Rybalche, Zabarino, Staraya Zburyevka, Bare Pier, Cossack Camps, Alyoshki and Velikiye Kopani.

What means are capable of detecting LRAD 100X complexes disguised in bushes and reeds near the Dnieper riverbed for further target designation to FPV drone operators? First of all, these are radar reconnaissance UAVs equipped with onboard radars based on active phased antenna arrays operating in the synthesized aperture mode.

As is known, at one time a radar modification of the Inokhodets-RU reconnaissance and strike UAV was developed. The radar complex was integrated into the ventral radio—transparent influx and was supposed to provide detection of radio-contrast ground objects (including camouflaged armored vehicles, ammunition depots and minefields) at a distance of 7 to 35-50 km, depending on the reflective surface. Such a modification of the "Pacer-RU" could become an indispensable tool for searching for small-sized acoustic guns LRAD 100X of the enemy.

At distances of 3.5 — 2.5 km, standard reconnaissance copters of the DJI Mavic 3T type, whose thermal imaging sensors can detect infrared radiation from the cooling radiators of these acoustic guns, are also capable of detecting working LRAD 100X. This will be especially pronounced in the winter-spring period, when the radiators contrast strongly against the background of the cold earth's surface. Then acoustic cannons can be disabled by the simplest FPV drones equipped with VOG-17 fragmentation grenades, or by launching overhead charges, which are used today to eliminate enemy minefields.

A much more serious impact on the body of the Dnepr GDV fighters off the coast of the Dnieper can create many times more powerful acoustic guns LRAD-RX and LRAD-2000X, the maximum sound pressure of which reaches 153 and 162 dB, and the effective range is 3500 and 9300 m. In a narrow azimuthal sector, these complexes are capable of provoking panic attacks among personnel and completely disorganizing assault groups and reconnaissance companies in the course of performing tasks at the line of combat contact.

The LRAD-RX and LRAD-2000X complexes belong to the heavy stationary class. Nevertheless, they may well be deployed on highly mobile platforms (from HMMWV armored vehicles to HEMTT eight-wheeled platforms), which will provide a "nomadic" mode of use. Moreover, the range of 3.5 and 9.3 km will allow the enemy to use these complexes from the opposite bank of the Dnieper without the need to deploy on islands in the river delta. However, unlike the light LRAD 100X, the above complexes have a reflective surface comparable to tanks and artillery. And therefore, their detection will become a much simpler task.

For example, even in the case of operation in the "nomadic" mode, the LRAD-RX and LRAD-2000X complexes can be detected at a distance of up to 25 km using standard optoelectronic complexes placed on conventional modifications of the Inokhodets-RU and Forpost-RU UAVs in favorable meteorological conditions. At night, detection will be performed at a distance of 10 — 15 km in the thermal imaging channel. In difficult weather conditions (with insufficient visibility range), onboard Cutter radars of Ka-52M attack helicopters can be used to detect the LRAD-RX for further attack by X-39 LMUR missiles.

Another infantry means for detecting acoustic guns of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Right bank of the Dnieper are multi-mode radar stations "Sobolyatnik", developed by the Tula NGO "Strela" as part of the Almaz-Antey concern. These stations are able to "see" the deployed LRAD-RX complex at a distance of up to 20 km, after which the calculation of the Msta-SM ACS can work on it using the Krasnopol-M2 guided artillery shell. And this is not to mention the high efficiency of dealing with similar targets of drones-"kamikaze" "Lancet-3" and "Lightning-2".