science

Ukraine and electronic warfare

Ukraine and electronic warfare is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Ukraine and electronic warfare rather than just read about it. In short: Electronic warfare (EW) is a technology that interferes with radio communications between the operator and all enemy electronic equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air defense systems (ADS), and artillery. Following the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, EWs have played a key role in ensuring Ukraine's defensive capability.

Key takeaways

Ukraine and electronic warfare belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Ukraine and electronic warfare to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Ukraine and electronic warfare from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Electronic warfare (EW) is a technology that interferes with radio communications between the operator and all enemy electronic equipment, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), air defense systems (ADS), and artillery. Following the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, EWs have played a key role in ensuring Ukraine's defensive capability. In particular, means of radio-electronic warfare deal with the suppression of mobile and satellite communications to disorient the enemy. EW has had a strong influence on all aspects of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

Development history

According to "ArmiyaFM", the first experience of combat use of Ukrainian EW was during a peacekeeping operation in Iraq. The use of radio-electronic warfare among the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) prevented the undermining of any personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian peacekeeping group. After this, other nations began to learn about Ukrainian EW technology allowing its specialists to be appraised at a higher level of ability. Until 2014, only four enterprises manufactured EW devices in Ukraine. Three of them were located in Donetsk and the Donetsk Oblast in territory occupied by Russia as of August 2024. These factories produced only eight types of installations, consisting mostly of radio suppression and radio jamming equipment. After Russia occupied Crimea and the eastern regions of Ukraine in 2014, the demand for EW in Ukraine increased dramatically, leading to significant production increases and the founding of new private enterprises. Despite this, on February 24, 2022, almost 65% of the anti-aircraft missiles that the AFU had in their arsenal were still of Soviet design. After the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, the number of domestically produced EWs doubled. Companies receive active support in the codification of their products from the Brave1 platform, a Government of Ukraine platform to bring together companies to promote innovation and development of military technologies for Ukrainian defense. During the platform's first year of operation in 2023, it united more than 50 manufacturers. In 2023, the Ministry of Digital Transformation announced the Ukrainian development of its EW system created as part of the Brave1— the Piranha AVD 360 program. The autumn 2023 Russian losses were high, but their more distributed and decentralized electronic systems were more effective in blunting Ukrainian counteroffensives, particularly in jamming American rockets. As of 2024, almost the entire share of the production of electronic warfare equipment in Ukraine is exclusively produced by private companies, some of which work in partnership with foreign manufacturers. Ukrainian companies have increased production of jamming gear and have become nimble in adjusting to battlefield changes of the frequency spectrum being utilized.

Types of EW In conflict, dominance in the electromagnetic space gives one party an advantage over its enemy in the management of troops and weapons. This is greatly aided by means of radio-electronic warfare (EW), which is one of the most significant and important elements of contemporary wars and, as a result, has had the most rapid and dynamic development among all modern types of weapons. Ukrainian EW tools can be divided into several main types:

Signals intelligence (SI) Signals intelligence (Ukrainian: Засоби радіоелектронної розвідки) systems are designed to detect and analyze enemy combatant signals. SI is very important for military intelligence because it acts as the main, and in many cases the only, way to obtain intelligence information of adversarial parties. SI detects intelligence, and can intercept and analyze radio transmissions and radio-electronic emissions. SI can also determine the location of enemy radio-electronic systems, and works without direct contact with intelligence objects, can cover large distances and space, and can work continuously at different times of the year and day and in any weather. SI systems used by Ukraine can provide highly reliable information due to it directly coming from the enemy. According to various estimates, 80–90% of primary information uncovered by Ukraine is obtained by means of SI.

Radio electronic suppression (RES) Radio electronic suppression (Ukrainian: Засоби радіоелектронного подавлення) is aimed at the jamming and suppression of enemy signals, including radio communications, drone control systems, and other electronic systems. RES counters any weapon systems that use radio-electronic or opto-electronic (infrared or laser) guidance or aiming systems. In their work, RES systems use two methods: they set obstacles and generate false signals. In most modern examples of electronic suppression technology, especially in the naval forces, both methods are used in a single integrated system. This also includes false targets, which are fakes that imitate real military objects. They can be similar in shape to a missile, drone or other type of weapon, and can emit thermal and electronic traces as well as engine sounds to sound closer to a real weapon. Deceptions are used to distract the enemy and force them to waste ammunition on non-existent military objects.

Radio-electronic protection (REP) Radio-electronic protection (Ukrainian: Засоби радіоелектронного захисту) is used for the physical and technical protection of Ukraine's own control systems and combat capability, as well as protection of personnel. REP acts as a response to electronic suppression measures, whose components are in constant competition with each other. Ukraine's current REP models generally correspond to the development and introduction of weapons and counterweapons, akin to the shield and the sword in historical combat. REP covers all methods and means that radio-electronics has, including measures to ensure the concealment of the actions of radar systems, methods of complexation and duplication, and special methods of interference-resistant signal processing. REP is very important in combat, because in case of weakness of radio-electronic protection, the enemy can get receive all the information about any vulnerable points in the army.

Technical characteristics

Ukraine has a variety of EW systems in service. According to the range of their action, they are conditionally divided into three groups: trench, tactical and strategic-operational:

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Ukraine and electronic warfare

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Ukraine and electronic warfare claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Ukraine and electronic warfare before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Ukraine and electronic warfare ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Ukraine and electronic warfare

In research: Ukraine and electronic warfare appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Ukraine and electronic warfare in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Ukraine and electronic warfare is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 21st-century military history of Ukraine, Electronic warfare, Information operations and warfare, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Ukraine and electronic warfare outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Ask Teacher Smith questions about this articleOpens your AI tutor with a question about “Ukraine and electronic warfare” →

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study Ukraine and electronic warfare in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Ukraine and electronic warfare means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Ukraine and electronic warfare out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Ukraine and electronic warfare in simple terms?

Why does Ukraine and electronic warfare matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Ukraine and electronic warfare?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Ukraine and electronic warfare.