Handheld ‘Stupor’ electromagnetic disruptors have reportedly been used against unmanned aircraft
Russia has successfully tested its Stupor electromagnetic weapon against Ukrainian drones, the news agency TASS reported on Wednesday, citing a source familiar with the program. The field trial was the first for the device against an actual enemy, the agency said.
Stupor is an electromagnetic projector that aims to disrupt a drone’s communication with its operator. This interferes with the mission of the targeted aircraft by rendering it unable to take commands or send back intelligence. The drone may simply fall to the ground or be hijacked afterwards.
A robotics research center of the Russian Defense Ministry presented the device during an arms show in 2017. It said the futuristic-looking device was effective at a range of up to 2km, as long as the target was not obstructed.
TASS said it was not able to learn where exactly the devices were tested, with the source only stating it was in the western part of the Donetsk People’s Republic.
RT Russian spoke to the designer of the electromagnetic weapon, Dmitry Klochko, who said his firm delivered a total of 10 anti-drone guns to Donbass militias. He said some of them were gifts while others were sponsored by private donors. The feedback was quite positive, he said.
The weapons designer said he had previously received requests for Stupor from the Russian military. Russian soldiers deployed in Syria reportedly used them to shut down primitive drones employed by Syrian militants against them.
In May, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Borisov claimed that an anti-drone laser weapon had been field-tested against Ukraine. He said it was nicknamed Zadira, or ‘Troublemaker’ in Russian, but offered few details about it.
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