Ukraine’s smart artillery shell took out Russia’s electronic warfare complex – Technology Org
The Armed Forces of Ukraine has shown the destruction of a Russian electronic warfare complex Palantin. This system is a fairly new weapon, which is still very rare in real war situations. The Palantin can be a huge problem for Ukraine’s defenders as it can disrupt communications or make using drones very difficult. However, Ukrainians hunted it down using a smart Excalibur shell.
The Palantin system is mounted on a KamAZ chassis and is very mobile. This thing can jam communications and drones. Image credit: Mil.ru via Wikimedia (CC BY 4.0)
The Palantin is a Russian electronic warfare system which entered service in 2019. It was developed and continues to be manufactured by Sozvezdie Concern, which is part of the larger Rostec group. The Palantin is a large electronic warfare device mounted on a KamAZ chassis. It is basically an advanced radio signal jammer, capable of disrupting cellular networks as well as drone activity.
The Palantin works in the shortwave and ultrashort wave ranges. It can make cell phones and radios unusable and drones fall from the sky due to lost contact with the pilot. Several Palantins can be linked into one large system, which covers a larger geographical area and can deal with many different threats.
Obviously, the Palantin can be a problem for the defenders of Ukraine. It has been noted by some of the soldiers that in some areas drones simply cannot operate. Small drones are used for dropping small charges on enemy’s troops or lightly armored vehicles as well as for reconnaissance and correcting artillery fire. However, the Palantine itself is not invincible.
The published footage shows the use of Excalibur precision-guided artillery munitions. The target was the Palantin electronic warfare complex. The fighters of the 128th mountain assault brigade spotted the Palantin system from a drone, which makes us think it might not have been active. Then one of many 155 mm howitzers fired the Excalibur precision-guided shell for a successful hit.
As Palantin is a very young weapon of electronic warfare, it is easy to estimate that it is very expensive. Furthermore, it provides protection for the invaders in Ukraine. This means the loss of one of these complexes is very significant.
The Excalibur might have been crucial for this attack. This precision-guided munition is programmable – as it’s descending it corrects its path to deliver a hit precisely into a designated target. Again, we don’t think this particular Palantin was active, but it was never meant to disrupt the use of smart artillery shells.
Sources: Focus.ua , Wikipedia