The development of technology and technology leads to the emergence of new threats on the battlefield and in the rear. In this regard, modern armies have to create and adopt the necessary products, as well as form completely new units. Unmanned aerial vehicles are becoming one of the most serious threats now, and this must be taken into account when developing the army. Taking into account the existing experience, it was decided to create special mobile groups, which will have to deal with unmanned aircraft. Moreover, such units have already managed to show their skills in practice.
Currently, several large exercises are being held in the Southern Military District, in which units of different types of troops are involved. Servicemen practice their skills at all the main training grounds of the district and solve tasks to combat a conditional enemy. Together with other units, for the first time, special mobile electronic warfare groups went to the training ground, which also had to use their equipment and thereby interfere with the actions of a conditional enemy.
R-330Zh "Zhitel" jamming station in the stowed position. Photo Vitalykuzmin.net
Mobile electronic warfare groups have been formed quite recently. They were collected in accordance with the order of the commander of the Southern Military District, Colonel-General Alexander Dvornikov. Such units have appeared in all formations of the district and are intended to protect troops from enemy unmanned aircraft in all its manifestations. In particular, the experience gained during the operation in Syria was used when creating new mobile groups.
During the Syrian operation, Russian troops had to face a new threat. Terrorist organizations have repeatedly attempted to attack Russian or Syrian targets using unmanned aerial vehicles. The lightweight UAV is notable for its low cost and ease of use, but at the same time it can carry some combat load. Fighting such attacks presents a certain difficulty for "traditional" air defense, and therefore electronic warfare should be used in such situations.
A number of attacks in Syria were repelled using electronic warfare means. At the same time, it became obvious that such a strike could be organized by any enemy and in any area. In this regard, it was decided to create mobile electronic warfare groups, the task of which will be to combat enemy drones.
A few days ago, the press service of the Southern Military District announced the participation of mobile units in one of the ongoing exercises. Events with their participation were scheduled for Thursday 30 August. The groups were to go to the area of the Marinovka airfield (Volgograd region) and to ensure the protection of the area from the UAV of a simulated enemy. Together with specialists in electronic warfare, anti-aircraft gunners and signalmen were involved in the exercises.
On March 30, the press service of the Southern Military District published a message about the successful completion of special exercises. According to their legend, the enemy's target was the Marinovka airfield. To strike at this object, the conventional enemy used several UAVs of different types. The flights were carried out at different altitudes and courses.
It is reported that mobile electronic warfare groups were able to detect incoming vehicles in time and determine their location. Conditional threats were fought in several ways, including with the help of weapons. With the help of the R-934BMV and R-330Zh "Zhitel" complexes, the electronic warfare units identified, intercepted and suppressed the data transmission channels of the UAV. As a result of the suppression of communications, the conditional enemy was deprived of the ability to collect intelligence information and the effective use of drones.
Data on the found objects were transmitted from electronic warfare systems to anti-aircraft systems. Complexes "Tor-M2" and "Pantsir-S1" received target designation from electronic warfare systems, after which they completed all the necessary procedures and made a conditional launch of missiles at targets. Enemy UAVs were conditionally destroyed at ranges of up to 10 km. Another target flying at an altitude of 150 m was hit by small arms fire from the ground.
One of the objectives of the exercises was to work out the interaction of units. Mobile electronic warfare groups not only searched for unmanned vehicles and prevented their effective operation, but also transmitted target designation data to other units. First of all, information about the targets was received by the security and support units at the control points. Also, data was issued to anti-aircraft gunners for fire destruction of targets.
"Resident" at the landfill. Photo by the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation / mil.ru
During the exercise, mobile electronic warfare units managed to protect the Marinovka airfield from a simulated enemy UAV raid. With the help of their own equipment, they prevented the effective operation of the devices, and the adjacent units ensured the conditional defeat of air targets. The conditional adversary could not break through to his goal and cause damage to it.
In parallel, other training events are being held at other training grounds of the Southern Military District, including with the participation of electronic warfare units. The personnel practice the skills of detecting and suppressing enemy communication channels, collecting and processing intelligence information, etc. In the course of the current exercises, almost all the electronic warfare systems that are in service with the units of the Southern Military District are being used.
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According to the press service of the Southern Military District, during the recent exercises, the mobile electronic warfare group used the R-934BMV and R-330Zh complexes to solve combat training tasks. It is quite possible that the new units also have other equipment for a similar purpose. With its help, the mobile group can find the enemy's communication channels and collect information or suppress them using interference.
According to known data, the product R-934BMV, mentioned in official communications, is a jamming station from the RB-301B Borisgolebsk-2 electronic warfare system. The complexes of the Borisoglebsk family were originally a deep modernization of the older R-330 Mandat systems. Due to the most serious redesign of the design and the use of new equipment, it was possible to significantly improve the main characteristics and expand the capabilities of the equipment.
The RB-301B complex has been developed since the mid-2000s and was put into service in 2013. The complex includes a control point and several jamming stations, including the already mentioned R-934BMV. All components of the complex are built on the basis of the MT-LBu unified armored chassis, which provides it with high maneuverability and mobility. The Borisoglebsk-2 complex has been mass-produced for several years now and supplied to units of the ground forces.
It is known that the radio-technical reconnaissance means of the RB-301B complex are capable of detecting various enemy radio communication channels and other signals. There is a function to determine the location of the signal source. The presence of several jamming stations at once provides the possibility of highly efficient suppression of a wide frequency range. As the latest exercises have shown, the means of Borisoglebsk-2 are capable of detecting and suppressing the control lines of unmanned aerial vehicles.
The R-330Zh "Zhitel" automated jamming station, which was also used in the "defense" of the airfield in the Volgograd region, is one of the components of the R-330M1P "Diabazol" complex. The latter is another version of the modernization of the relatively old "Mandate" with the use of modern equipment. The development of the R-330M1P has been carried out over the past decade; the complex entered service in 2008.
The "Diabazol" complex is similar in architecture to "Borisoglebsk-2". It includes a control point and a set of automated jamming stations, one of which is the R-330Zh. Unlike a number of complexes of the "Mandat" family, the R-330M1P is built on the basis of an automobile chassis with unified box bodies. In terms of its capabilities, "Diabazol" is similar to other modern complexes of its class, but differs in other technical characteristics. In particular, it differs from Borisoglebsk-2 or other systems in its operating range.
One of the machines of the RB-301B Borisoglebsk-2 complex. Photo Nevskii-bastion.ru
The use of electronic warfare systems RB-301B and R-330M1P allows mobile counter-UAV teams or other units to detect radio signals from sources at ranges of up to several tens of kilometers. Suppression of communication channels of ground equipment is carried out at distances of 20-25 km. When the communication of aircraft is suppressed, the range is doubled.
The new mobile electronic warfare units are armed with complexes built on the basis of serial chassis. This allows for the rapid transfer of groups to a given area to cover the necessary objects. In addition, such a design does not impose special requirements on positions for the deployment of equipment. It takes no more than 30-40 minutes to prepare the Diabazol and Borisoglebsk-2 complexes for work. Collapsing and transferring funds to the stowed position also takes minimal time.
The mobility of the complexes provides obvious advantages. In addition, it allows you to more efficiently solve new problems. Self-propelled vehicles of mobile groups can advance to the specified object in a minimum time and provide timely protection from scouts or attack drones.
The electronic warfare systems transferred to the new mobile groups were originally created as a universal means of influencing the enemy's radio communication and control channels. As part of the new divisions, their role changes slightly. Now, first of all, they will have to search and suppress data transmission lines connecting the UAVs and operator consoles. As follows from the available information and the results of recent exercises, modern domestic electronic warfare systems do an excellent job with such tasks. In addition, such systems can issue information to higher command or anti-aircraft gunners.
The widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles of all classes, which are now available not only to armies, but also to small armed formations, leads to the emergence of new challenges and threats. It is important that the means to protect against such threats already exist and are in service. Thanks to this, the Russian army is able to organize the protection of objects from UAVs relatively quickly and easily. It is enough to form new specialized divisions and equip them with the required equipment.
It is possible to increase the defense capability not only with the help of new weapons and equipment, but also due to the correct organizational structure of the troops. The recently appeared mobile counter-UAV teams are called upon to solve a new urgent task directly related to the progress of recent years. In addition, these units have already managed to show their capabilities in the conditions of the training ground.
