Ukraine conflict: Ukraine destroys key Russian EW system

A screengrab of a video posted in October by the Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine shows the destroyed Russian R-330ZH Zhitel Automated Jamming Station. (Special Operations Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine)

A Russian R-330ZH Zhitel Automated Jamming Station has been destroyed in the Zaporizhzhia region in Ukraine.

According to an announcement on 9 October by the Special Operations Forces (SOF) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the attack was “completed by artillerymen” and supported by its SOF units.

R-330ZH is a key component of Russia's electronic warfare (EW) arsenal, used to disrupt the communication command links between unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and their operators. Specifically, it interferes with Inmarsat and Iridium satellite communication systems as well as the NAVSTAR (Global Positioning System [GPS]) radio navigation system and the cellular communication solution (GSM-1800). It can also detect, analyse, and direction-find satellite- and cellular-based communication devices.

The EW system is mounted on either the Ural-43203 or KamAZ-43114 6×6 truck chassis and includes a two-axle trailer featuring a diesel electric power generator with four active phased array antennas on telescopic masts. In a video shared by the SOF, a Ural-43203 truck appears to have been destroyed and is entirely engulfed in flames, while the front section of the two-axle trailer is on fire. It is unclear whether the antennas are damaged.

A Russian Akatsiya self-propelled gun, Uragan Multiple Launch Rocket System, and a Pion 203 mm self-propelled gun were also destroyed as part of this operation.