Ukraine adviser: Electronic warfare cannot redirect incoming ballistic missiles
Russian missile strike on Kyiv on Aug. 5 (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer TPX)
Electronic warfare systems cannot defeat every type of
Russian weapon, Serhii Beskrestnov, an adviser to the Ukrainian president on
defense technology development known as Flash, said.
Electronic warfare does not cause Shahed drones to crash,
Beskrestnov said. Instead, it interferes with their ability to locate and
strike targets, giving air defense forces additional opportunities to destroy
them.
He also stressed that electronic warfare systems cannot
divert ballistic missiles.
“Even if electronic warfare could do that, we would not use
that capability in cities. It is better for a missile to hit the grounds of an
empty factory at night than a neighboring residential complex because of
electronic warfare interference,” the expert explained.
Electronic warfare technology can affect guided aerial
bombs, or KABs, Beskrestnov said, but the process is difficult because Russia
is constantly improving protections for its guidance systems.
“No one would dare divert a KAB that is flying toward a
factory in a city. Diverting a KAB outside a populated area will not destroy
it. It will fall on our territory and cause damage,” he added.
In June, Flash reported that Russian forces had begun using
Molniya-type drones on frequencies that most electronic detection systems “do
not see, or see poorly.”
In July and early August, Russia intensified ballistic
missile strikes on Ukraine, launching dozens of missiles at Kyiv and Kyiv
Oblast every few days. On the night of Aug. 5, Russia launched four Zircon
missiles, 24 Iskander-M/S-400 ballistic missiles and 115 drones. Ukrainian air
defenses failed to intercept any of the missiles.
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