History, strengths, limitations of Russian EW systems

BLUF: Russian EW has long range and power, but struggles with encrypted military comms. In our business lunch section, we take a look at two scenarios for the future of export control; new lobbying reforms proposed in the Rada; and whether Andreessen Horowitz is launching a European arm focused on national security.

THE BIG STORY: Soviet Echoes: Why is Russian EW relatively advanced? 

The Russian military machine inherited the legacy of the Soviet Union, which had robust research institutes dedicated to the development of electronic warfare systems. 

And since the fall of the USSR, it has tested its own advancements in EW during wars in Chechnya, Georgia, Syria, and now in Ukraine.

"A number of, at the time, new EW systems were deployed to Syria to support the Russian deployment there, which tended to work quite well," said Thomas Withington, an associate fellow specializing in EW at RUSI, a U.K. think tank. 

In May, the Washington Post reported that many U.S.-made satellite-guided weapons have faltered due to Russian jamming. This meant that key systems like Excalibur artillery shells and HIMARS were rendered significantly less effective. 

"Russia has the most capable electronic warfare systems in the world with the longest range and most powerful GPS and radio frequency jammers of any nation," said David T. Pyne, a member of the U.S. EMP Task Force, to Military Watch Magazine. 

But not everyone agrees that Russian EW is so far ahead. The USSR invested a lot in long range EW systems that were really advanced. But many of Russia’s EW systems are still working on 1950s or 1960s technology, said Roman Ruban, head of R&D at Ukrainian EW company Awedyne. 

“I can only say one thing: the antennas, frequencies, and technologies used today to transmit signals are all from the 1950s. Only the generation of the signal has changed and become digital,” explained Ruban.

The genesis of Russian EW advancement:

The progress in Russian EW is a legacy of the Cold War between the USSR and the United States, said Anatolii Kalantarian, chairman of the supervisory board of U-TECH Fund.

“During the space race, both countries developed systems for intercepting signals from satellites and radio transmissions from spacecraft,” said Kalantarian. ”These technologies contributed to the creation of more advanced tools for signal monitoring and electronic warfare.” 

Russians were also focused on jamming radio and communication to block access to Western media. To overtake the U.S., the Soviets put a lot of effort into research infrastructure and engineering schools which specialized in EW. 

Russia has a few centers of EW development: one of them located in Moscow, while others are located beyond the Urals, where many enterprises were relocated during World War II, said Serhiy Herasymyuk, a manufacturer of EW systems at Antidrone.CC

Russian capabilities in developing EW after invading Ukraine

Russia not only maintains a vast arsenal of Soviet legacy products, but it has also developed new products in recent years. 

Western countries implemented sanctions after the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and again after the full-scale war in 2022, making it difficult for Russia to access Western technologies. High quality semiconductors are much harder to obtain now, and it's slowed down development, explains Kalantarian.

Russian EW can currently be separated into three groups: 

• tactical EW with range up to 50 km, for example the R-330Zh Zhitel;

• operational and tactical EW with range of up to 500 km, such as the RB-341V Leer-3;

• and strategic EW greater with a range of more than 500 km, like the Murmansk-BN.

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BUSINESS LUNCH TOPICS: What our reporting shows!

1. What happens if the Ukrainian government loosens restrictions on defense exports? Tech Force in UA hosted an event, presenting two possible scenarios: 

The miltech industry’s dream scenario includes a controlled opening of exports for surplus and unwanted products to countries who are party to security agreements. 

It also depends on the government signing long-term — rather than batch — contracts with weapons producers, and granting operational freedom in the use of funds. 

In this scenario, domestic manufacturers would receive preference over foreign producers and benefit from a transparent procurement system, explained Tech Force in UA lawyer Alla Ananchenko.

The industry’s nightmare scenario lacks all the measures mentioned above, which would lead to more companies relocating abroad, with a resulting decline in domestic production. 

This scenario, which reflects the status quo, is marked by instability and uncertainty for manufacturers, as the state takes no action to change the situation in the defense sector.

THE PR CHALLENGE:  The head of the Aerial Reconnaissance Support Center and the Invisible Battalion project, Maria Berlinska, suggested developing a communication strategy to explain the need for exports to the public.

Two obvious pushbacks to address: 1) how to explain exports to the Ukrainian public in time of war? 2) how to explain exports to allies as Ukraine is asking for more military aid?

2. Is American VC coming to European defense? In Madrid, David Ulevitch, a general partner at Andreessen Horowitz, mused that the VC firm — the largest in the world by assets under management — may soon launch a European division focused on national security. 
   
   Ulevitch leads Andreessen Horowitz's American Dynamism practice, which invests in companies involved in advancing U.S. interests, including national security and defense.
   
   At the European Defense Tech Summit in Madrid, Ulevitch said that the Ukraine war has fundamentally changed his vision of what kind of defense companies he would invest in. Given the proliferation of relatively cheap drones on the battlefield in Ukraine, for example, he said he would no longer be interested in companies selling million dollar drones.
   

3. Which startup sectors appeal to investors the most? At the Invest in Bravery event held in Kyiv last Thursday, investors and accelerators listed them off:

• Kateryna Bezsudna, co-founder of Ukrainian miltech accelerator Defence Builder: Maritime drones, space/rockets, software integration to work with hardware; anti-drone and drone detection systems.

• Brent Christiaens, co-founder & managing partner at Seven Capital: Anti–drone solutions. 

• Matej Luhovy, associate at Presto Ventures: Anti-swarm and anti-FPV solutions.

• Kevin Leach, founder of Sabre training advisory group: Training tech.

• Artem Moroz, head of investor relations at Brave1: Tech focused on physical destruction of drones;

• Alex Kinash, co-founder of Darkstar: Precision strikes inside Russia.

4. Czech investors in Kyiv: Last week 18 startups competed for the chance to collaborate the venture fund Seven Capital. Ultimately, three were chosen to enter into discussions for investment:

• Syla: develops prosthetics for people with lower limb amputations.

• Falcons: develops the ETER complex for direction finder of Russian EW, UAV or communications.

• M-Fly — specializes in advanced gimbals for UAVs, providing precise range finding, geolocation, and enhanced stability.
  
  Also, the organization has invited six startups to pitch in Czechia next spring: Syla, Hearing 24, Falcons, M-Fly, Ai4UAV and Frontline. 

5. President Volodymyr Zelensky signed Customs Reform Bill 6490-D, which will take effect on November 1st and includes:

• A competitive selection process for the Head of the State Customs Service, ensuring political independence.

• Reassessment of all customs service workers in the 18 to 36 month period after the election of new chairman. They will be tested on knowledge of laws and integrity;

• Salary increases for customs employees;

• The adoption of this law was one of the requirements of the International Monetary Fund for the continuation of its program with Ukraine.

In Collaboration with Centre of United Actions – Ukrainian reforms we’re tracking:

ON LOBBYING: 
Draft Law No. #12120 introduced October 15, 2024
Status: Sent for review to the Committee on Legal Policy
Initiated by: MP Mykola Stefanchuk from the Servant of the People faction

Proposal: the draft bill ensures the creation and operation of the Transparency Register, as well as the ability to fully implement the provisions of the Law on Lobbying after it comes into effect.

Why It Matters: 

1. Defines terminology: what is lobbying, who can and can’t be a lobbyist, sources of financing;

2. Implements transparency register; 

3. Implementing principles of lobbying;

4. Defines objects of lobbying (public authorities, local governments), as well as control methods.

ON THE MOVE: Professional movement, promotions and industry news.

Know someone in the defense tech space who has made a professional move? Drop us a line at [email protected]! 

• Oleg Gulyak was officially appointed as director general of Ukraine state-owned defense enterprise, Ukroboronprom. Before that, he was in the status of an interim director general.

• Oleksii Cherniuk was promoted to a new position in Kvertus — chief operating officer. Previously he was a deputy director.

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The RT Weatherman Foundation currently specializes in evacuating wounded soldiers to matched medical facilities within Ukraine and abroad, while ensuring fallen foreign heroes are returned home with dignity. Also recognizing the power of the pen, they sponsor a respite retreat for war journalists. Their efforts bridge critical gaps in care, honoring all those who serve and sacrifice.

30 SECOND ELEVATOR PITCH:

Frontline is a company transforming modern warfare by replacing soldiers with affordable, reliable robots. The startup was founded by serial miltech entrepreneurs who already developed seven robots for the Ukrainian military.

“With $225k raised from D3 Fund and an American angel investor, we're seeking $800k in our seed round to scale production and meet urgent demand. Join us in revolutionizing defense tech and saving lives,” said Mykyta Rozhkov, CMO at Frontline.

MUST READS:

• President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced an $800 million package from the U.S. to boost production of Ukrainian drones.

• Ukrainian company Ailand Systems won a Red Dot Design Award for a universal UAV platform in agriculture.

• Non-profit drone maker the Wild Hornets have developed anti-drone drone “Sting” to counter Russian Shahed munitions. It is able to fly faster than 160 km/h and at altitudes of up to 3000 meters.

• The mysterious Phoenix Ghost drones turned out to be not just one drone, but a whole family of UAVs with different ranges. The War Zone reports that they are produced by AEVEX Aerospace. The U.S. supplied them to the Ukrainian army.

• Frontline announced a new ZOOM drone that the firm developed on their own communication platform, ‘Hertz,’ Developers are preparing to launch mass production.

• An unnamed Ukrainian company will build a new explosives plant in Lithuania. Construction work is expected to start in 2025.

• Lithuania will invest almost $11 million in production of Ukrainian missile-drone Palyanitsa.

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