2024-08-28 14:30:00
A mini-drone powered by four propellers takes off vertically with a special payload, a miniaturized goniometer. Its mission: to fly over the immense terrain at a height of 80 meters and locate signals emitted by the communication of a walkie-talkie. A way to scan the horizon without having to install high goniometric antennas that are immediately identifiable. Inside a shed, an operator follows the trajectory of the drone on his screen, recovers the signals received by the goniometer and finally locates the transmitter. Mission accomplished! It is thus possible to establish a map of radio flows on the battlefield.Electronic warfare is a powerful tool. From the nature and flow of the emissions, one can deduce the nature of the different transmitting sites. This was used in Ukraine to identify, locate and destroy Russian command centers that did not sufficiently protect their emissions.“, explains General Barrera, former major general of the Army and now defense advisor for the Thales group.
Countering new threats
Technology also helps neutralize the threat of kamikaze drones. Thales has deployed a jamming solution to protect convoys that could be targeted by drones carrying explosive charges. To do this, it equipped a pick-up truck with two antennas: one, at the front, detects the arrival of the drone, the other, at the rear, jams communication between the operator and the aircraft, forcing the latter to return to its starting point.This creates a real bubble of protection around the convoy.“, explains a Thales researcher. This system previously existed to jam remote controls that triggered explosives from a distance. It was simply necessary to broaden the jamming frequency band.
The Cholet site, one of the group’s main centres of expertise in electronic warfare, also produces the satellite antennas deployed during external operations. The latest generation, shown at the Eurosatory trade fair in June, will be more compact and, above all, will work on additional frequency bands in order to triple the speeds offered to soldiers.
Disrupting drones
Thales is not the only one wanting to neutralize drones using waves. This is also the case for Safran’s Electronics & Defense division, especially when drones operate in swarms. To deal with this new threat, Safran has developed in six months a more sophisticated solution than GNSS (global navigation satellite systems) jamming, which is commonly used but often lacking in effectiveness. The Skyjacker system, also launched at Eurosatory, consists of deceiving approaching devices.It has the ability to generate false positions that confuse drones.“, summarizes Germain, sales manager for electronic warfare systems. In short, Skyjacker replaces the signals emitted by navigation satellites (GPS, Glonass, etc.) with modified signals, which will mislead the drone about its real position.
Safran has developed a kind of wave cannon that emits a cone of modified signals, the range of which can exceed ten kilometers. Instead of “jamming”, the traditional GPS jamming, this system implements “spoofing”, the GNSS deception.The technologies behind Skyjacker come in particular from the acquisition of the SME Orolia, with expertise in GNSS signal simulation.“, says Germain. This solution can be coupled with a radar detection and optronic identification capability, in a land or naval environment. In concrete terms, it can be implemented on mobile elements or buildings. Safran Electronics & Defense has partnered with Hologarde to develop a system deployed during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Attack… and defend
Jamming is a defensive weapon in conflict zones, but how can you not fall victim to it in turn when you want to transmit ever-increasing amounts of information? Safran has developed a solution: taking laser optical communication technology out of the lab and projecting it onto the battlefield. A solution that could also facilitate exchanges with communication satellites. For several years, the manufacturer has been working on a solution based on a laser transmitter capable of transmitting information via a 1-micrometer diameter laser beam and a receiver that can be located more than ten kilometers away.
First use case: maritime, to enable tactical communication (messages, photos, videos). Terminals that must be permanently stabilized to ensure proper beam alignment. Insensitive to GNSS signal jammers and offering a throughput of between 5 and 50 Gb/s, this mode of communication is not without limits.In heavy rain and long range, it will probably be more difficult to transmit the signal.“, recognizes Emmanuel, an R&T program manager at Safran Electronics & Defense. #
You are reading an article from L’Usine Nouvelle 3732-3733 – July-August 2024
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