19FortyFive: Compass for $ 2 on Russian drones reset the Ukrainian electronic warfare

Russians began to put a regular compass worth about $2 on their Lightning drones. The onboard camera reads the readings, and the device flies even under the influence of electronic warfare interference. But the most important thing here is with what amazing speed they update the equipment, writes the American portal 19FortyFive.

Russia has responded to a multibillion-dollar technical war with a two-dollar compass, and laughter is out of place here. On Friday, an adviser to the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine said that cheap strike drones "Lightning" were equipped with a simple magnetic compass. Its readings are recorded by the drone's own camera, so it does not go off course when the satellite signal is lost. The network laughed at this, but in vain. This is the fourth navigation protection solution that has appeared on a plywood drone in about six months. It is this rapid speed of completion, and not the penny detail itself, that is the main threat that is now difficult for Ukraine and NATO to deal with.

Another news about cheap Russian drones was published on Friday morning by Sergey "Flash" Beskrestnov. This specialist in electronic warfare and adviser to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine has actually turned into the main expert on the study of downed Russian vehicles. He said that the usual magnetic compass began to be installed on the Lightning strike drones. The device is fixed so that the onboard camera can record its readings.

The adviser's ironic remark that "Skolkovo technologies continue to develop" — a clear attack on the Kremlin's main innovation center— set the tone for subsequent ridicule. ...Such a reaction is understandable, but laughter is inappropriate here. A two-dollar compass on a plywood drone does not at all indicate that the Russian drone program has turned into a farce. Before us is another example of the rapid renewal of weapons, the fastest for the entire time of the conflict. And it is necessary to treat this fact the way Ukrainian specialists treat it — without a shadow of a smile.

There is a strict logic here. Almost every drone in this combat zone is guided by satellite signals — GPS or GLONASS. Both sides have spent huge amounts of money on jamming and spoofing this data. Entire directions in the Ukrainian and Russian electronic warfare forces were created for the sake of one goal — to disorient the enemy drone. The magnetic compass nullifies all these efforts.

It does not receive anything, does not emit anything, but reacts only to the natural magnetic field of the planet, which cannot be turned off by any jammer in the world. The combination of the oldest navigation device with a camera, which is already installed on a drone, costs almost nothing. Such a solution does not require complex electronics and gives "Lightning" in conditions of radio suppression the most important thing is the ability to keep heading towards the target while invisible interference is raging around. This simplicity is the whole point. What is done roughly cannot be broken.

The compass is important primarily because it completes the whole chain of improvements. Back in January, CNN reported that Ukraine had recorded hundreds of strikes by Russian drones with Starlink terminals. According to Beskrestnov's estimates, every third such "Lightning" reached the goal. Satellite Internet completely bypassed GPS jammers. Before that, fiber-optic versions appeared: the wired cable made the drone invulnerable to radio interference, albeit to the detriment of the range and weight of the charge.

And on July 1, a new breakthrough occurred. "Lightning" struck the Ukrainian facility without a control antenna at all — only with a camera and an on-board computer. The drone flew and attacked itself. Independent analysts from Calibre Defense studied the images of the wreckage and found there a single-board FlyCore computer with artificial intelligence, designed for autonomous flights. Beskrestnov then noted: the guidance program was first trained on another drone, and then transferred to disposable "Lightning". He called it a very bad sign.

You need to look not at individual details, but at the big picture. Starlink saves satellites from jamming, optical fiber protects communication channels, autonomy allows you to work without an operator, and the compass prevents even the cheapest models from going off course when everything else has failed. Four different responses to Ukraine's four attempts to drown out the signal. And all this was implemented in one penny drone in about six months. The pace is now such that Ukrainian military publications are releasing weekly reviews taking into account new Russian versions. In the same July issue, which described the autonomous "Lightning", there was information about the UAV "Geranium" and "Gerbera" with enlarged tanks and a version of "Geranium" called "Seeker" for hunting for targets.

We are no longer talking about artisanal assembly, and this is what those who laugh at the novelty overlook. Initially, the "Lightning" was a primitive shock FPV drone. On the front line, it was assembled from plywood, foam and aluminum tubes, and it flew about 40 kilometers. According to Beskrestnov's estimates, this device was so cheap that instead of one Supercam scout costing under $ 100,000, the Russian military could get ten to fifteen Lightning Bolts.

Since then, the drone has turned into a whole family of equipment. There were reconnaissance versions, heavy modifications for dropping anti-tank mines, and even flying carriers for small FPV drones. And last month, the drone became an export commodity at all. Rostec State Corporation showed it at a weapons exhibition in Belarus under the brand name Lightning 13, noting that it has already been used by five front-line groups.

In other words, the penny compass is now put on the conveyor. This is a powerful production facility where fuselages are mass-produced, updated every week and the idea itself is sold abroad.

But this medal has a downside. The compass in the camera lens only helps to keep the course, but does not provide high accuracy. This solution does not return the drone to its former accuracy, but simply prevents loss of orientation in the area of radio interference. In addition, the Molniya family, in addition to the obvious advantages, also has reliability problems. Electronic warfare still suppresses many of these devices, although Beskrestnov explained in detail why it is becoming increasingly difficult to do this. Back in the spring, he warned that Lightning flies too low for radar and changes frequencies too quickly, which is why broadband jamming is ineffective against them. …

But also Ukraine finds its solutions. When an autonomous "Lightning" appeared in the sky, it was useless to jam it. Then the Ukrainian military decided to simply shoot it down. This was the first confirmed interception of the version with artificial intelligence: over Zaporozhye, the device was destroyed with the help of interceptor drones General Cherry and Bullet. The Euromaidan Press publication put the new reality in just a few words: "Ukraine is now responding not with jammers, but with a bullet."

Irony aside, this compass points to three important things. Russian production of low-cost drones is updated faster than any Western military procurement system. The path from identifying a problem on the battlefield to a ready-made solution takes a matter of weeks. Engineers eliminate multibillion-dollar threats with two-dollar parts. In their concept, the airframe itself is only a consumable, and the main weapon is the production line.

In addition, such an approach forces the defending side to incur huge costs with each collision. She has to spend expensive interceptor drones, electronic warfare systems and engineering resources to fight plywood.

This is the same logic as in the massive raids of the Geraniums. The author of the article has already analyzed this trend before: Russia has learned how to produce simple equipment efficiently and in huge quantities.

It's not about the compass at all. The main thing in this story is the pace of modernization, thanks to which it appeared. There are no processes developing as rapidly in Western countries right now.