Return to sender: Is Ukraine able to send "Shaheds" back to Russia?

Return to Sender

According to Anatoly Maslov, to "redirect" the Shahed drones, it's necessary to "spoof" their navigation systems. Spoofing is a method of electronic warfare that involves substituting the signals received by the drone from satellites. The UAV believes it is in a different location and adjusts its course to reach the intended destination, but in reality, it flies where the electronic warfare system directs it.

Theoretically, Ukrainian forces are quite capable of altering the flight direction of the Shaheds and sending them back to Russia or Belarus, but in practice, this is very challenging. These drones are equipped with specially protected antennas of their own design called "Kometa." These antennas point upwards towards the satellites, while fake signals are typically sent from below.

"They are not easy to spoof because usually, electronic warfare systems are on the ground rather than in the air, making it sometimes difficult to do," Anatoly Maslov noted.

He cannot confirm whether Ukraine is indeed directing the Shaheds towards Russia or Belarus, as there is no access to this information, but he suspects that the information from LeMonde is accurate.

The Ukrainian system "Pokrova" can divert missiles and Shaheds at altitude by using spoofing to ensure they fall in fields without causing any harm. A representative from "Vinnytsia Bees" explained that the UAV typically carries an altimeter, which means it does not need to receive data from satellites about its altitude. Because of this, intercepting and substituting this information is impossible.

"It is possible that this type of spoofing relates to how the Shahed understands its coordinates. Most likely, it receives information about its location at a different point than where it actually is, tries to adjust its altitude based on its perception of its location, and thus falls," the specialist speculated.

Swarms of Shaheds: What They Threaten Ukraine

Anatoly Maslov also commented on rumors that Russia is preparing to attack Ukraine with swarms of Shaheds. The Russians are already using dozens of long-range UAVs simultaneously, but this does not simply mean a large number of drones.

"If there are some smart algorithms added, then a swarm of drones can coordinate and more effectively navigate through bottlenecks in our air defense. They can gather real-time information and make immediate navigation decisions. This is where the danger lies in drone swarms," said a representative from "Vinnytsia Bees."

The Russians are experimenting extensively with control mechanisms for the Shaheds. Ukrainian forces have found devices with mobile communication modems, Starlink terminals, cameras, and video transmission systems. With these, a signal can be sent to the drone to adjust its route with new points or coordinates, and this does not even require very low latency.

Anatoly Maslov states that this way, the Russian Armed Forces can learn about the results of a mission from one drone flying ahead. If this "recon" drone is shot down by air defense systems, all others can avoid the danger zone.

Another option is that there is a main UAV, and all the others follow it in a specific sequence. Once the operator loses contact with the leader, the role is passed to the next in line, and so on.

"In the case of a swarm of drones, this can occur in a 'smart' semi-automatic mode," the developer noted.

To create strike swarms, Anatoly says that the Russians need to have the appropriate communication technologies, algorithms, software, and the like. This is quite difficult to implement.

"There may also be a need for computational power to process data in real-time. I'm not sure how much of a bottleneck this is," the expert added.

Sanctions are in place and hinder Russia from obtaining foreign components and technologies, including equipment for machine algorithm operations. However, artificial intelligence systems can operate in various ways, and not all require significant computational power or the handling of large data volumes.

"More or less reasonable behavior can be ensured without using powerful servers to process data in real-time. I can't say exactly what is needed for the Shahed swarms, only speculate," Anatoly Maslov remarked.

In response to the emergence of Shahed swarms, Ukraine can create swarms of interceptor drones. According to Anatoly, manufacturers will face the same challenges: coordination among different UAVs and automatic behavior adjustment based on circumstances.

If we are talking about combating individual Shaheds that are currently attacking Ukraine, then various obstacles also arise for interceptors. Unmanned fighters need to navigate around friendly electronic warfare systems that suppress GPS navigation or other communication systems during air alarms.

"Coordination with air defense forces is necessary, which currently have the task of somehow jamming the Shaheds to avoid interference with their own. In the case of manual control without navigation systems, the operator's task becomes significantly more complicated, and at high speeds, a great deal of skill is required. Automatic targeting and navigation systems can be established," Anatoly Maslov shared his thoughts.

"Shaheds" typically fly over Ukraine at night, making manual control even more challenging due to poor visibility from darkness. The interceptor drone needs to cover a certain distance to find and catch up with the target, thus requiring GPS satellite signals or a visual navigation system to determine its position at night, and the influence of its own electronic warfare could interfere. Of course, thermal cameras can be installed—they will help locate the target by its heat signature and hit it in the sky, but not orient on the terrain.