"Everything that goes up in the air will fall down sooner or later." The electronic warfare company of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine Khartiia explains what electronic warfare is and why it is crucial in warfare. We talked to the electronic warfare soldiers who worked as IT managers, technicians and construction workers in civilian life.
"What is the easiest way to explain what electronic warfare is? A popular association is that there is some kind of anti-drone rifle, a guy runs around with it and shoots back at drones. This may have happened before, but now it is a much more sophisticated system," explains the commander of the electronic warfare company of the Khartiia, call sign "Grandpa".
In fact, electronic warfare is not only mobile means such as anti-drone guns, but a whole range of combat support measures for the army. Its task is to ensure superiority in the airwaves, one of the main domains of 21st century warfare along with land, sea and air. And the more technologically advanced warfare becomes and the more equipment there is on the battlefield, including UAVs and ground robotic systems, the more important is the ability to influence the frequencies on which these systems operate and through which they are controlled.
"Previously, not even all the military understood the importance of electronic warfare, but now the situation is changing: if you go to a position without electronic warfare cover, you immediately realize the difference," says Kass, a Khartiia soldier.
We are telling you who works in the electronic warfare unit of the 13th Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The electronic warfare specialists of The Khartiia share how they came to the army from civilian professions, what challenges their service involves, and who should be added to the unit.
Who works in the electronic warfare
"Grandpa" is the commander of the electronic warfare company Khartiia, who participated in the formation of the unit and now leads it. In the Ukrainian army, "Grandpa" is a popular call sign, and anyone over the age of 40 can be called that. But "Grandpa" from the electronic warfare company has a different explanation: "I'm just stuffy." The joke implies meticulousness and attention to detail, not a rigid leadership style, his subordinates say. "In my civilian life, I am a manager and have always promoted a communication format where a person chooses the path and tools to accomplish a task, and management provides positive motivation and support," he explains.
Prior to joining the army in 2023, Grandpa worked as a manager in IT companies, including EPAM Systems, and before that he worked for 11 years at one of Ukraine's largest mobile operators. "I was in the right place at the right time. The team needed a person with experience in working with networks, and I was ready to take responsibility for the development of the area. Thanks to the people who became the core of the unit and the brigade headquarters, which effectively assisted us, we achieved results. I hope the command is satisfied with this result," says the soldier, who rose from a soldier to an officer and company commander.
"Grandpa helped us a lot to adapt, he made a significant contribution to our development," says a soldier of the electronic warfare unit with the call sign "Cass" who worked as a miner in Dnipropetrovs'k region before joining the Ukrainian Defense Forces. He has been with Khartiia since 2023 and joined the company when it was formed. He says that his supervisors and work ethic helped him adapt to his new responsibilities: "The main thing is to be ready to learn and work."
"Sid" joined the electronic warfare company recently. "When I talked to 'Sid' in the summer before mobilization, I really liked his approach. I had talked to other commanders before, and they were more straightforward. In our company, we use more of an IT approach to organizing work and management," he says. In civilian life, Sid worked with the front-end, and in the army he is learning Python and working more with code. "I am still adapting, but the team is helping me," he adds.
Recently, he has also been assigned the call sign "Silent". After going through the recruitment process, he worked as a developer for eight years in IT companies. "I saw a vacancy for a security analyst and decided to apply my skills here," he says. "Mostly I used to work with the backend, I was a tech lead," Silent continues, "Of course, in the army I have other tasks, I need to work more with hardware, to understand something new. But I am glad that I can continue working in my specialty and not degrade professionally. In addition, here you feel that you are doing something useful, contributing to a common cause."
The soldier with the call sign "Vakula" joined the army from the construction industry, in particular, he worked with the insulation of houses. He says that he prepared for mobilization purposefully, taking part in a Poltava volunteer community formation, where he received the basics of military training. He has been with Charter for about a year now, and has worked as an assembler, drone operator and driver for the battalion commander. "It was useful for me that I first learned to work with FPV drones, and then started working with EWs. That is, at first I understood how drones work, and then how to fight them. Then I decided to try my hand at assembling drones, as it was closer to my heart," explains Vakula. Now his job is to ensure the functioning of the electronic warfare positions: installing masts, maintaining equipment, and installing electronic warfare equipment on vehicles.
What exactly do electronic warfare specialists do?
"Grandpa" shows us the holy of holies of the electronic warfare company - the network control center. "This is our command post and control center for all the brigade's electronic warfare assets," the company commander leads us on a tour of the small room in a secret location. "Here we combine several areas: controlling electronic warfare assets, monitoring network statuses, interacting with adjacent units, and communicating with the brigade's leadership and allies. He adds after a pause: "Electronic warfare is primarily about managing a communication network. We build and maintain the network to which various electronic warfare assets are connected. This is our backbone, and without it, these means cannot be controlled."
The screens in a small room in the basement display up-to-date maps of the work areas and information from the EW posts, radar stations, and direction finders. Electronic warfare posts are located throughout the sector and are mostly divided into two categories: detection and suppression posts. "We have a well-developed system of posts in different areas and trained operators of electronic warfare equipment who are able to analyze the system and make appropriate decisions," explains Grandpa. "We monitor the airwaves," says the electronic warfare operators on duty, "We know which frequencies commercial drones fly on, which ones are FPV or "wings. We know the structure and nature of a particular signal. If, for example, we detect a drone, we have to determine whether it is friendly or hostile. Accordingly, we need to influence it or not. And then we evaluate the results of our influence."
The network control center operates around the clock, with usually several electronic warfare specialists on duty. In addition to providing communication about the operation of the electronic warfare network, detection, analysis, and suppression, the duty officers prepare reports. "Based on the reports, we can analyze what happened in our area of focus. For example, which enemy drones attacked us or our neighbors, and how. This is important so that we can respond appropriately and install equipment that will effectively counteract," explains the commander of the Grandpa unit.
The main ways to influence enemy drones are to suppress radio communication and navigation. "The most popular means of influence is to create an interference on the air at the frequency of the control channel," explain people who work with electronic warfare. "For example, a drone flies at certain frequencies. We turn on a powerful jamming signal at these frequencies and thus disorient the drone. Then it cannot receive commands from the operator and, accordingly, is unable to perform a combat mission. And, of course, everything that goes up in the air will fall down sooner or later." Among the innovations is the use of artificial intelligence to counter FPV drones.
The Khartiia electronic warfare company operates in the area of interest of all battalions of the brigade and ensures interaction in terms of information and protection against enemy drones. "We are approached to order suppression, for example, during rotation in positions. They specify the area to be covered, and we provide it. Similarly, in situations where, God forbid, a fighter is wounded and evacuation is necessary, we provide cover to transfer the wounded comrade to a stabilization point," says Kass.
To maximize the safety of personnel, the electronic warfare system of the Charter is organized in a remote format. "We are convinced that people are our greatest value," commented the EW officers, "That is why all posts should work remotely and be controlled remotely. There is no point in constantly going to the positions and turning on or off a switch if we can do it centrally."
Who is needed in the electronic warfare company now
"We need both people who work with their hands and young engineers who bring innovative ideas to the unit," says the commander of the Khartiia's electronic warfare company, who goes by the call sign "Grandpa." Among the specialties, he says, the electronic warfare has the greatest demand for programmers, network administrators, radio engineers and electronics specialists.
"It is electronics and circuitry specialists who are most needed," continues Grandpa. "These are specialists who need to be trained for a long time. It's not even about specialized education, it's about experience with electrical circuits." "It would be great to involve more people who are good with iron. Because, for example, I don't know how to solder, but sometimes it's necessary," adds his fellow Silent. "Hardware is a field that is difficult to jump into right away, you need to have experience," says Sid.
At the same time, the company commander of the electronic warfare says that the necessary basic knowledge can be taught in the unit. Call sign Kass adds that the team has already created a mechanism for training newcomers: "We understand that when new people come in, they need some time to settle in and learn, so we have developed our own program." "Our experience shows that completely different people can work effectively here. It all depends on motivation and desire to learn. Our first focus in selecting people is whether they want to invest their free time in their development and whether they are ready to work selflessly. If a person is willing, we will help them to be effective in a particular position. If the candidate has no desire to actively work for victory, we will not work with such a person," concludes Grandpa.