Russia installed satellite navigation equipment with 12 channels for bombs and UAVs, helping them to deal with Ukraine’s electronic warfare measures.
The Fighter Bomber account of the Russian fighter pilot on April 16 published a video from the reconnaissance drone, showing the moment when the 4 bombs are equipped with a guiding module and the consolidated lifting wing (UMPK) hit the Ukrainian army’s bullet warehouse in Kherson, creating a large smoke column and a series of secondary explosions.
“All 4 bombs hit the target in the 50 m wide area. This is a great result for UMPK bombs,” the account said.
UMPK bombs raid Ukraine in the Kherson city in the video announced on April 16. Video: Telegram/Fighter_Bomber
Ukrainian Defense Department of Defense Militarnyi On the same day, the image of the Kometa Satellite Confirm cluster with 12 antenna elements, saying that the device is being equipped with a drone (UAV) long-range Geran-2 and Russian UMPK bombs.
“Ukrainian soldiers in January also obtained a Kometa device cluster with 16 antennas on the Russian UAV body,” the portal said.
Russia seems to start deploying the UMPK bomb equipped with a 12 -channel Kometa system from the beginning of April. This is an attempt to deal with the Ukrainian army’s electronic warfare measures, which are said to make UMPK bombs reduce accuracy in the previous period.
The first prototype of Kometa was developed by VNIIRT Progress in Moscow in 2007 and weighed nearly 40 kg. The manufacturer has continuously improved design, enhances performance and cuts its weight. The Kometa-M version was born in the period of 2016-2018, weighing about 0.14 kg and was designed for unmanned aircraft (UAVs).
Systems such as Kometa use controlled signals (CRPA), also known as beam shaping antenna, which installs many small antennas elements capable of detecting and eliminating fake signals, which is one of the main measures to cause satellite signals.
CRPA allows to obtain low -power signals from satellites, even in a strong jamming source. However, the opponent can still apply it if deploying the amount of radio is equal to or more than the number of antennas on the device.
Kometa-M cluster with 8 antennas (left) and 12 antennas (right). Image: Militarnyi
The initial kometa variant has 4 antennas elements. Ukraine experts in September 2023 said that the military should simultaneously deploy 4 interference systems in an area to reduce the accuracy of Russian weapons, which is considered to be a big challenge then.
However, Ukraine then deployed a large number of jamming machines in key areas, causing Russian bombs and UAV UAAV to decrease accurately. To deal with, the Russian army switched to using Kometa-M clusters to equip 8 antennas. “The accuracy of UMPK and UAV Geran-2 bombs is immediately restored when Kometa-M appears,” said Forbes’s David Hambling pen.
Ukraine media in early April announced that the country developed a new electronic warfare system called “Lima”, capable of interrupting the satellite connection of navigation weapons thanks to combining interference, fake signals and electronic interventions.
The manufacturer claims that lima uses digital pressure instead of traditional radio jams, making it more effective in combat and requires less than the old combination.
This is also the time when Kometa systems with 12-16 antennas began to appear on Russian weapons deployed in Ukraine.
“The Ukrainian force will definitely study the new Kometa system.
Cluster 4 antenna on the original Kometa device of Russia that Ukraine earned. Image: BQP Ukraine
Western experts also said that Russia will not stop at 12 or 16 antennas, despite increasing the number of signaling devices will make the system much more complicated.
“The amount of data and processing requirements will increase for each antenna to be added. This also increases the size of the board because the antenna must be a few centimeters apart. The board with 16 large antennas, but this is difficult to prevent the manufacturer supplementing components if it is guaranteed interference resistance and maintain accuracy for navigation weapons,” Hambling said.