Ukraine’s Kursk Offensive Blitzed Russia With Electronic Warfare And Drones

A rapid Ukrainian advance starting August 6^th has taken Russia – and Western analysts — by surprise , pushing deep into enemy territory and threatening the city of Kursk. The offensive has gained more territory in a few days than the Russians have in months. And while it is difficult to tell exactly what is happening, success seems to have been achieved by mastery of a new style of warfare.

Part 1: Electronic Blitzkrieg

According to Russian military Telegram channel Troika (“Three”), the Ukrainians used tactics previously tested in Kharkiv on a smaller scale. (Credit to Roy for picking this up).

First, they brought down Russia’s screen of aircraft-type reconnaissance drones, effectively blinding commanders to what was happening. This may have been done by new interceptor FPVs linked to air-defence radar.

Secondly, under cover of the temporary observation blackout, short-range jammers were brought forward to the front line. These were programmed with data previously gleaned from electronic warfare reconnaissance.

“They discovered the main frequencies of our border radio communication networks, drone control frequencies, and prepared powerful jammers that crushed our communications,” according to another Russian blogger quoted by WarTranslated.

This was at least partly possible because the area was considered low priority and was not supplied with the latest equipment. In Ukraine, the war of drones versus jammers has been a constant arms race of upgrades as each move to evade jammed frequencies is countered by new jammers. It seems the drones in this sector were not working to the latest standards.

The result was that Russian drones, essential to identify targets and guide artillery, as well FPVs, were not able to function. According to WarTranslated’s source, even the feared Lancet loitering munitions were partly affected.

Drones are a major asset for stopping armored assaults. Recent reports suggest that they account for two-thirds or more of the tanks killed, with videos showing entire armored assaults knocked out one-by-one by successive FPV hits long before they reached enemy positions.

By concentrating enough jamming resources in the Kursk sector, Ukraine neutralized Russia’s drones, allowing their armor to cross open territory without being destroyed.

But how did they tackle Russian troops dug deep into defensive lines built over the course of two years?

Part 2: Drone Blitzkrieg

According to Three, Ukraine filled the skies with its own drones “an incessant barrage of high-precision FPVs, which go in swarms.”

OSINT analyst Roy notes that in recent weeks Ukraine has employed powerful drone bombs to blast openings in the overhead cover or Russian trenches and dugouts. Skilled FPV pilots are able to fly though these openings and clear the trench below.

It may be significant that some videos of the action showe new Ukrainian dive-bomber drones. While quadcopter dive-bombing has been seen before, these look like aircraft-type drones with longer range and greater payload. It is a distinct echo of the original Blitzkrieg concept of dive-bombers in close support of ground troops.

One the trenches are cleared, Three say that new Ukrainian ranger units quickly moved in to occupy and secure the empty positions, following close behind the drones(‘Drone rangers’?). Then the radio jammers were brought forward, and the whole process was repeated for the next stage of the advance.

A Window In Time

Russian military commentators called for their forces to ‘blanket the sky’ with VT-40 FPV drones and wipe out the Kursk incursion. The VT-40 made by volunteers group Sudoplatov is made under Ministry of Defence contract and produced in vast quantities. But one of the major criticisms has been that the makers have been slow to update the control frequencies, so after a while they become easy to jam. That seems to have been exactly what has happened here.

The Russians are well aware of this vulnerability to electronic warfare, and are introducing new semi-autonomous FPV drones with optical guidance. These allow the operator to lock on from a distance and continue to the target regardless of jamming. But they are not yet present in large numbers and likely none have been supplied to low-priority sectors like the defensive line at Kursk.

This opens up a window in time where a jamming blitz can succeed and give total drone dominance for long enough to make a breakthrough.

Once semi-autonomous and autonomous drones become common – or others using jam-proof technology like fiber-optic cable – then clearing the skies will no longer be so straightforward.

But there may be another approach. It looks like mobile warfare is still possible when drone dominance of the skies is achieved. And while jamming may not work, more kinetic approaches – direct drone-on-drone attacks – are becoming increasingly feasible.

Just as the original Blitzkrieg needed control of the skies so it was not halted by enemy air attack, drone airpower — fleets of fighter drones to down enemy reconnaissance and attack craft — could become be a vital component of the modern version. Their success at suppressing enemy drones may determine whether an assault succeeds or fails.

The situation in Kursk is still extremely fluid. Ukrainian sources are giving away no details of their operations. Once it is over though, they may have written a new chapter is the history of warfare.