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During its war with Ukraine, Russia seemingly developed the new Wall-E anti-drone unmanned vehicle (named after the Disney character), which is designed to suppress the communication channel between a drone and its operator.
This is the first time a domestic tracked platform electronic warfare system is developed by Russia, as reported by Russian state-owned domestic news agency RIA Novosti, which reported on the field testing of the robot earlier this month.
According to Interesting Engineering, the anti-drone system is equipped with a Fumigator electronic warfare system designed to sever communication links between unmanned aerial vehicles and their operators. It also has secure control channels that allegedly allow for “hassle-free operation” despite the suppression systems being active, as well as enough battery power to maintain operations for long hours and keep the electronic warfare system active.
The robot’s manufacturer, Rebovet, claims that the system is designed to create a communication suppression dome with a radius of 250 to 300 meters, which can render kamikaze and recon drones useless as well as protect troops on the ground from attacks.
All in all, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine has shown the use of drones at a scale that has never been seen before, with both sides developing and using both aerial and ground systems. However, experts report that Russia seems to be taking the lead when it comes to neutralizing enemy drones.
Russian anti-drone warfare systems proved themselves effective in protecting their tanks from FPV drone attacks, while troops also use traditional techniques (like smoke screens and anti-drone cages) to keep their tanks safe.
The jamming performed by Russia has also impacted the performance of the HIMARS system (which is not inflicting as much damage as expected), as well as the performance of the US-supplied glide bombs.
However, drones of both countries are continuously wreaking havoc in fighting zones. It remains to be seen how effective the Wall-E system is going to be and how it can protect Russia’s on-ground troops against Ukrainian drones.
