EW Academy · Contents · Chapter 17 · Nederlandse versie
Chapter 17: Counter-UAS & drone EW
Drones as a dominant factor and EW as the primary countermeasure: the two links to attack (C2 and GNSS), detection (RF, radar/micro-Doppler, EO/IR, acoustics), defeat methods, and lessons from Ukrainian open sources (Pokrova, Bukovel-AD, Pole-21, fibre-optic FPV).
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17.1Why EW against drones
Unmanned systems ( UAS — Unmanned Aircraft Systems, popularly called drones) have become a dominant factor on the modern battlefield — and EW is a primary countermeasure . The reason is economic: drones are cheap, numerous and small (low…
Read §17.1 →17.2The two links to attack
A drone has two weak spots: the radio link with its pilot and its satellite navigation. Break one or both, and the drone loses its way or its control.
Read §17.2 →17.3Detection first: C-UAS = detect + defeat
Before you can take anything out, you have to detect it. Counter-UAS (C-UAS) is therefore always detect + defeat , and detection combines several sensors because every individual method has weak spots:
Read §17.3 →17.4Defeat methods
Once a drone has been detected, there are several EW ways to take it out — from soft to hard:
Read §17.4 →17.5Lessons from Ukraine (open source)
Since 2022 the war in Ukraine has been the largest living laboratory for drone EW. Open-source publications paint a consistent picture: a dynamic arms race in which every countermeasure is answered within weeks.
Read §17.5 →17.6Scenario: a drone attack on a command post
A worked scenario that brings detection and defeat together:
Read §17.6 →17.7Drone types: reference
Five representative drone classes from the war in Ukraine, with their altitude band and EW-relevant characteristics.
Read §17.7 →17.8Fibre-optic FPV: the hard limit of EW
The fibre-optic FPV drone deserves a treatment of its own, because it strikes at the heart of this chapter: it makes the most important EW countermeasure completely irrelevant . Instead of a radio link, the drone uses a hair-thin optical…
Read §17.8 →