Turkish President Should Thank Russian EW Systems

This post is also available in: עברית (Hebrew)

Russia is now one of the world leaders in the development and application of EW (Electronic Warfare), even though 20 years ago it was seriously lagging behind other countries in this area. According to experts, Russian EW systems installed on air carriers are comparable to American ones, while the ground-based EW stations used in the Russian army can claim the title of the world’s best.

The Khibiny electronic countermeasures system is installed on all Russian military aircraft. Visually, it consists of several containers with electronics, which are attached to the wings. However, these containers immediately convert the aircraft into a formidable combat unit.

Khibiny reflects an interrogation signal aimed at the aircraft by a radar from the ground or from another aircraft, and completely distorts it. The consequences of this operation may be most serious for the radiation source, from distortion of a signal to the complete blocking of work.

EW ground-based stations are represented by several samples, the most interesting is the Krasuha-4 EW system. First put into service in 2012, Krasukha allows almost every radio signal within a radius of 200 miles to be blocked.  

This surveillance and eavesdropping system is able to suppress the activity of AWACS aircraft, capable of targeting airborne radio-electronics and airborne systems guided by radar as well as to jam almost any enemy EW systems.

Since October 2015, the system has been deployed on Russia’s Khmeymim airbase near Latakia in Syria in order to protect S-300 surface-to-air missile systems from hostile air and space reconnaissance assets. Commercial information released by Rostec, the umbrella of Russia’s high-tech defence companies, stated earlier that the Krasukha-4 system had been deployed in Syria to support The Russian Aerospace Defence Forces operating against the Islamic State and other anti-Assad terrorist forces.

According to Defenseworld.net, these Krasukha-4 systems deployed in Syria recently hacked into Turkey’s NATO-compatible radio-electronics mounted on helicopters, aircraft and ground vehicles to learn of the impending coup attempt against Turkish president Erdogan.

The Russian intel agency had passed on the information it intercepted regarding the Turkish army plans to Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, Fars news quoted unnamed diplomats as saying.

Krasukha-4 broadband multi-functional jamming station is mounted on four axle chassis. It counters AWACS and other air-borne radar systems. It has a range for effectively disrupting low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites and can also cause permanent damage to target radio-electronic devices. Ground based radars are also viable targets as it has an operational range of 300 km.

The Vitebsk onboard electronic warfare system used in Syria allows an airplane or helicopter to “see” in a radius of several hundred km. It can determine who is aiming at the helicopter, and after a missile is fired, can lead the missile elsewhere so it misses its target. This applies to all missiles, whether equipped with radar, infrared, or combined guidance systems.

Interestingly, when this system is onboard, it can protect not only the helicopter or plane, but everything within a certain radius, forming an “electronic canopy” around the object being protected.