"Electronic warfare in your pocket": an innovative system from STT GROUP, Russia

It's no secret that, during the past year, the threat of military use of various UAVs, including entirely civilian ones, which are converted into dangerous combat drones, all the way up to loitering munitions, has skyrocketed. It is natural that, over a short period of time, such deadly vehicles have left the battlefield and through terrorists appeared in the peaceful skies. The threat to the civilian population and facilities has increased sharply.

How can this threat be countered? There are many ways: from the simplest, but not the most efficient ones (shoot down these tiny and deadly vehicles with small arms) to rather efficient, but complex and expensive methods (use air defense weapons). A relatively inexpensive, but quite efficient alternative option for those willing to take a middle course is available: electronic warfare, or, as they say in the military, EW.

The existing range of electronic warfare is extremely diverse not only in terms of location, from air and sea to land and portable ones, but also in terms of their capabilities and functionalities. Both major and powerful corporations and small, but not less and sometimes more efficient, private companies are engaged in the development of this huge arsenal of electronic countermeasure equipment. The key expert of SST GROUP, a Russian developing company, has shared some details with us about one product that may not only spoof signals of satellite navigation systems, but also suppress a remote detonation of explosive devices.

“We have recently launched a series of new devices. These are completely in-house developments of our company. As previously mentioned, the development of one or another device is dictated to us by the life itself. Over the past few years, the number of so-called "air threats" has increased many-fold, and now this problem has become critical: attempts to commit terrorist attacks using drones are made more and more often. This is facilitated by the easier access to unmanned vehicles technologies and the continuous improvement of both UAVs themselves and their control systems. The genie is out of the bottle, it is not likely to ever go back in again.

The worst thing is that one drone can carry several improvised explosive devices or it can itself turn into a strike weapon: loitering munition. Then even simple, civilian drones pose a serious threat not only to military, but also to civilian facilities.

For example, during the FIFA World Cup, which was held in our country in 2018, several terrorist attacks using UAVs were prevented. And even earlier, our security services prevented similar incidents during sports and mass events. Now, this specific terrorist threat has reached the heart of our Motherland.

But there are means to combat this danger, and I'd like to take this opportunity to present a device that provides capability to defend against such terrorist attacks. This is one of the new products from STT GROUP: NR-NSS portable jammer of radiocontrolled explosive devices. Its intended use is to jam radiocontrolled explosive devices mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles. The product is a compact generator of a special signal, having an antenna system.

The power module of the jammer generates interference, spoofing a signal of satellite systems such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidoo. This simulated interference suppresses the operation of the navigation systems of drones, not allowing the navigation systems to operate correctly. In simple words, the interference creates a kind of spherical protective zone where the satellite signal is suppressed.

The product is developed for representatives of national security, defence and law enforcement agencies and is used to cover groups of experts during inspections of an accident scene, search and rescue and special operations. Our NR-NSS EW system will be able to suppress efficiently the operation of a UAV, for example, a quadrotor, within line-of-sight at the distance of at least one kilometer.

The jammer is very reliable and is able to operate in drastically different weather conditions, when it is extremely hot or cold. It can withstand temperatures from –20 to +50 degrees Celsius. The NR-NSS system is powered by replaceable batteries. Besides, it will operate for at least 8 hours without recharging, which is very important for comprehensive protection of special operations areas.

Considering that this STT GROUP’s product is designed to be used in the field, it has a compact design and weighs no more than four kilograms, which makes it possible for a single person to move it. For the same purpose, the product has been equipped with just two intuitive controls: an on-off main switch and a power source monitoring button. This is quite sufficient to quickly establish an invisible, but sufficiently reliable radioelectronic protective ‘dome’ over an area of special operations.”

We recognize that the work of STT GROUP’s team is just a drop in the bucket when it comes to the whole range of counterterrorism equipment, but, as is commonly known, these are drops that make the mighty ocean. In the context of the special military operation conducted by the Russian Federation, it is becoming clear not only for the Russian society, but also for the Russian business community, that in these times it is critical to stand shoulder to shoulder with the people and the nation. Numerous valuable, innovative ideas and developments from small and medium-sized businesses already have a perceptible effect not only on the front lines, but also in our, albeit not entirely peaceful, day-to-day life, after all, it is paramount to ensure the security of regular people. The responsible and correct approach of such companies as STT GROUP deserves a detailed coverage of their activities.