Russia unveils latest anti-drone complex

Russian state company Ruselectronics has finished developing a system that can detect and suppress multiple drones from a distance, a press release claimed on Thursday. The creators boast that this complex can counter "a drone swarm."

The Serp-VS5 (Russian for Sickle) can cut off drones from their pilots within a 5km (3.1-mile) range. The system works in five frequencies, which allows it to target specialized drones as well as civilian ones, the press release states. According to the developer, Serp-VS5 suppresses the connection from the UAV operator, scrambles navigation, and disorientates the aircraft. The complex is said to work against American GPS, Russian-made GLONASS, Chinese Beidou (the L1, L2, L5 ranges), as well as Wi-Fi-controlled drones.

The anti-drone defense system was designed by Ruselectronics’ Vektor research institute. Both the company and the institute are part of Rostec, Russia’s leading state-owned tech industry conglomerate. The developer’s deputy CEO, Andrey Sorokin, said "Anti-drone protection was becoming an integral part of any security system."

Combat and reconnaissance drones are being used extensively amid Russia’s military operation in Ukraine both on battlefields and for sabotage attacks by Kiev. Last week, Russian air defenses shot down an unmanned aircraft over Bryansk Region. The Krasnodar and Adygea regions were also attacked by drones in late February, when those attempts were successfully repelled, the Russian Defense Ministry reported.

Earlier this month, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that a commercially available quadcopter had been used in a sabotage attempt against a Russian A-50 early warning and control aircraft, which was sitting at an airfield near the country’s capital of Minsk.