SOME METHODS OF COUNTERING THE EFFECTS OF UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS AGAINST ELECTRONIC WARFARE DEVICES

Abstract

One of the serious problems that has had to be solved constantly since the beginning of the modern Russian-Ukrainian war (since 2014) is the counteraction to electronic warfare (EW) means. Since there is a constant improvement of both aircraft (manned and unmanned) and means of combating them, this problem will not lose its relevance in the coming years. The main methods of counteraction: cryptographic signal protection, frequency aggregation, the use of physical barriers, autonomous flight modes (with the closure of all radio channels of communication with the operator), the creation of unique software for UAVs (Shkitov, 2024). This paper will consider one of the options for countering EW means, which aims to reduce the vulnerability to these means not of a single unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), but of a properly configured system of many UAVs, which can be considered as a “swarm of drones” or “cloud of drones”. A system is proposed where individual combat UAVs are controlled by a central drone using radio signals or optical communication. Only the central drone has communication with the operator (via electromagnetic radiation in the radio range or via optical fiber). Within the “swarm”, the typical distances for signal transmission are small (of the order of meters), so signal transmission between aircraft is less vulnerable than in the case of direct communication with the operator. A variant of signal exchange is also possible when the aircraft are combined into a network; in this case, remote elements of the “swarm” may not be directly connected to the central device. That is, something like a two-dimensional crystalline structure with the interaction of the nearest (or close) neighbors may take place. A three-dimensional structure seems less appropriate from the point of view of the effectiveness of using means of impressing individual UAVs, but may be appropriate if the satellite drones are also assigned the function of protecting the central drone. Methods of protecting information exchange channels between the central drone and the operator are not considered in the work.