Russian soldiers stand next to a Silok system (Photo: Forbes).
Russian forces in Ukraine deployed Silok radio jammers to cut off signals between Ukrainian drones and their operators.
However, Ukraine has destroyed several Silok complexes with its own UAVs. Most recently, a Mavic quadcopter UAV of the Ukrainian Aerobomber unit bombed a tripod-mounted Silok with a grenade, destroying it.
However, according to Ukraine, Silok's performance did not seem as impressive as Russia claimed.
Silok automatically detects and jams drone radio links at a range of up to 4km. For static defense, it will be mounted on a tripod. The device can also be moved on a truck.
Russia received its first Silok in 2018 and conducted exercises using the system in the Orenburg region that same year. According to Russia, the Silok helped repel a swarm of 10 drones during the Orenburg drills that were carrying out a simulated attack on a command post.
It is unclear exactly why the Silok failed to achieve high performance in its drone jamming mission in Ukraine.
Forbes said that Ukrainian UAV operators used a tactic of frequently changing radio frequencies to bypass Silok.
Another theory is that the Silok may lack the sensitivity needed to detect the incoming threat. On the other hand, Ukraine captured an intact Russian Silok system in 2022. They may have dissected and examined Moscow’s equipment to find weaknesses in it and find ways to counter it.
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