Ukraine manages to intercept Russian ballistic missiles with cheaper Lima EW — WSJ

Soldiers from Ukraine’s specialized Night Watch EW unit told WSJ that earlier this year, the Lima complex successfully jammed two Russian ballistic missiles traveling at hypersonic speed toward a government facility in Kyiv. Overcome by deceptive radio-frequency emissions, both missiles veered off their attack vectors and crashed into the Dnipro River.

During the engagement, navigation applications on smartphones across Kyiv spoofed user locations to Peru, reflecting the intensity of the localized electromagnetic interference, WSJ noted.

According to a Night Watch unit major using the call sign "Alchemist," Lima system transmits targeted electronic countermeasures across operational distances of up to 200 kilometers, throwing strike drones, cruise missiles, and guided aerial glide bombs off course. During the ballistic missile defense over Kyiv, Lima saturated the airspace with falsified coordinates — a sophisticated cyber-electronic technique known as GPS spoofing.

The Downfall of an 'Invulnerable' Kinzhal

WSJ revealed that last November, Night Watch achieved one of its most remarkable tactical milestones by neutralizing an air-launched Kh-47M2 Kinzhal hypersonic aeroballistic missile — a platform the Kremlin repeatedly touted as immune to interception. Unit officers explained that Lima injected false navigation coordinates into the missile’s terminal guidance computer, causing it to execute an erratic course correction and break apart mid-air under extreme aerodynamic stress at hypersonic velocity.

Ukrainian commanders noted that Lima successfully suppresses between 70% and 95% of radio-guided drones operating within its active sector.

Architecture and Counter-Countermeasure Upgrades

Distributed transmitter network: Lima system utilizes megaphone-shaped emitter antennas mounted atop masts across open fields, forming an invisible, distributed electronic barrier across the country.

Lima Quant upgrade: Because Russia continually adapts its strike systems to harden them against jamming, Night Watch specialists and Cascade manufacturer examine debris from downed targets to develop countermeasures. This research produced "Lima Quant," which uses specialized proprietary algorithms to defeat modernized Russian anti-jamming CRPA antenna arrays.

Cost-effective grid defense: Several Western and Ukrainian air defense experts confirmed to WSJ that while EW cannot entirely replace kinetic interceptors like the MIM-104 Patriot during saturation salvos, Lima delivers a vastly cheaper, highly available layer of defense to safeguard cities and critical power grids.