Russia is preparing for the serial production of 24-element CRPA antennas designed to protect the satellite navigation systems of weapons from Ukrainian electronic warfare measures.
Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a freelance adviser to the President on technological issues and a technology expert, said this in an interview with Radio NV.
“We expect a new Russian antenna to appear this month, with 20 elements. And that is not all. We have intelligence indicating that they [the Russians] will begin serial production of 24-element antennas next year,” he said.
Beskrestnov said that Russia is already using CRPA antennas with more elements than before on Shahed drones.
“Shaheds initially had four-element CRPA antennas, then eight-element ones, and then 16-element ones. Now, for example, they are using CRPA antennas — either Chinese or Russian-made — with 16 elements,” the freelance presidential adviser said.
According to him, increasing the number of antenna elements creates additional challenges for Ukrainian electronic warfare systems, as such antennas are more resistant to the suppression of satellite navigation. Beskrestnov added that these antennas are used not only on Shahed drones.
“Such antennas are used on Banderol missiles, Dan-T and Dan-M missiles, and guided aerial bombs. This is a very popular technology among the Russians. Everything that uses satellite navigation employs these antennas, which are designed to counter our electronic warfare systems,” he explained.
According to Beskrestnov, Russia is seeking in this way to stay ahead of the development of Ukraine’s electronic warfare capabilities.
