“The Frequency Hopping System Really Works” The Ukrainian Military From Bakhmut – sUAS News – The Business of Drones
ATLAS is pleased to share the story of an AtlasPRO user bravely defending Ukraine.
The Armed Forces of Ukraine tested the new improved ATLAS Software Defined Radio (SDR) feature, Smart Jump. One of the soldiers who put the AtlasPRO through a jamming and tampering test near Bakhmut, a city in eastern Ukraine, shared his experience of the tests.
Sergey A. (call sign “Ef”) is the head of the air surveillance group in one of the units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He says it’s hard to overstate the role of drones in warfare. He knows all too well the corrosive feeling of helplessness when the drone’s connection to the remote control is lost due to jamming by radio electronic warfare.
“Due to the electronic warfare system, more than one major drone was lost… This is why our unit often tests drones for jamming and deception before use. Usually, everything ends very predictably: under the conditions of operation of the radio-electronic warfare system, the drone is lost in 100% of the tests.
“Therefore, the AtlasPRO UAV complex with its frequency hopping function looked very interesting. Simply put, this feature allows the drone to jump into a certain radio frequency range, bypassing those that are
blocked by the electronic warfare system,” added Sergey A.
The Ukrainian military began training flights of the AtlasPRO complex shortly after receiving it.
He continued: “We were looking forward to the electronic warfare operator gloating that they had silenced drones of other manufacturers during past training. We left the fields, sent the “hunter” with a jamming system several kilometers away from him, agreed on the route, took a deep breath and set off. Initially we flew at an altitude of 200 meters and only the GPS signal was lost, which is expected but not a serious obstacle to the task.”
“Then we lowered the altitude to 150, then to 100 meters … the effect was the same, without GPS, but with full control signal strength. It was very encouraging and hopeful. Then we did a few rounds of
extremely low altitude and saw the surprised eyes of the radio electronic warfare operator who failed to silence the AtlasPRO. Of course, drones operating without satellites need special capabilities, but the key here is that control was preserved.
Serhii A. notes that piloting the AtlasPRO is characterized by less feedback and requires more practice for an inexperienced pilot, but the frequency hopping system really works and will give a real chance to save the equipment from loss and to complete the task.
“The day of military training ended with a discussion of the potential capabilities of the AtlasPRO complex and a mockery of the radio electronic warfare operator’s facial expression,” concluded Sergey A.
As you already know, ATLAS has been working with Ukraine since 2019.
The company creates a high-performance dual-use UAV, the AtlasPRO, that focuses on quality as well as user comfort and safety. The company is currently preparing the next-generation ATLAS model features for users, including an even more advanced intelligent frequency hopping system.
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