The Russian military has formed a brand-new special forces unit specializing in electronic warfare in its Western Military District, the first unit of its kind.
Initially, the unit will be tasked with countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The unit is to be based on the territory of Kursk oblast.
The move to form anti-UAV spetsnaz units is considered a vital component in a larger strategy to dramatically upgrade the Russian Armed Forces’ EW abilities.
During Russia’s recently-completed Zapad (West) 2017 military exercises, the armed forces thoroughly tested the Bylina automated EW operation system to much reported success. Now the system will be mass-produced.
“This system was designed to operate electronic warfare systems on a strategic level in the (SW) shortwave band,” TASS news agency reports.
“Three other new EW pieces (names have not appeared), tasked with broadcasting fake communication signals as well as accumulating, processing and transmitting information, were also tested,” the Eurasia Daily Monitor noted.
Analyst comment: Russia is putting a lot of resources into developing counter-EW capabilities as an asymmetrical means of countering Western military technology and weapons systems.
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