Russia prepares to surprise Ukraine with a Stupor

Reconnaissance and strike-reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles pose one of the biggest problems for fighters in the 21st century is. There were more than 12 million of them on the planet in 2020.

Drones can be dangerous in civilian life as well. They can be used for massive attacks on government facilities and infrastructure. Traditional air defense systems are unable to handle this challenge.

A large number of flying mechanisms may overload computers of any air defense system, making it easier for attack drones to break through to the target.

In order to cope with this kind of danger, Russian engineers created powerful electronic warfare UAVs — Krasukha-4, Leer-3 and Moskva-1. Such systems are able to control airspace for at least 400 kilometres around. They can also suppress on-board electronics of not only UAVs, but also aircraft.

Cheap drones may often appear in most unexpected places. Heavy electronic warfare systems are absolutely useless at this point as it takes time to transport and deploy them. Portable electromagnetic systems of Stupor class may come in handy at this point.

This year, they began to appear in the Donbass, as well as in Russia-controlled areas of Ukraine.

The Stupor system was developed by the Main Research and Testing Center for Robotics of the Russian Ministry of Defense. In 2016, it was called PARS — Russian initials for pribor aktivatsii rezhima spaseniya which translates as the device for activating the rescue mode.

Stupor's designer Dmitry Klochko started his own small company six years ago for the design and production of innovative technology. He has eight people working in his workshop. They are capable of producing about 100 Stupors per month. Originally, the Stupor counter-drone device was designed to protect private houses, yachts, and other expensive objects.

Russian security forces paid attention to the invention in a matter of months. During the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the police used PARS systems to protect sports facilities from drones. The Russian military first put the new means of electronic warfare in Syria.

Dmitry Klochko said that his team sent the first trial batch of ten Stupors to the Donbass, to the Vostok battalion. The result was impressive: at a distance of up to 500 meters or more, the Stupor electromagnetic device creates a cone of 16 degrees and reliably blocks the information transmission channel between the aircraft and the control center.

The Stupor also suppresses satellite navigation, making it impossible to activate the so-called "security protocol" — an algorithm that enables drones to return to the base automatically. In addition, the Stupor does not make drones crash on the ground — the device makes them land carefully in an operator-designated area.

Reportedly, the Kalashnikov Concern is already working with this project. It was said that the company launched a series of REX products. Electromagnetic devices may soon be supplied to infantrymen, paratroopers, artillery and air defense crews.

The United States has a similar system at its disposal too. Battelle's Drone Defender counter-drone device appeared on the market in 2015. It weighs 4,5 kilograms, and its combat radius does not exceed four hundred meters. The battery lasts for five hours of continuous operation.

The Russian device lasts for six hours as it has two batteries. In standby mode, the Stupor may last for two months on a single charge.

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Electromagnetic devices usually have a range from 1.5 to 2 kilometres. Such devices can be used to jam all known navigation systems: GLONASS, GPS, BeiDou and Galileo.

The Stupor is more than one meter long and weighs about 5.5 kilos. The device can be equipped with optical or collimator sights.

It was said that the Stupor device can be used in conjunction with an auxiliary weapon — a laser that can burn drone's video camera.