Ukraine Sends Shahed Drones Back to Russia and Belarus Using Spoofing Technology

Ukraine is using advanced electronic warfare systems to intercept and alter the satellite coordinates of Russian Shahed strike drones, redirecting them back into Russian and Belarusian territory, Le Monde reported on November 26.

A source close to Ukrainian military intelligence revealed, “This is the result of our ‘spoofing’—intercepting satellite coordinates.”

On the morning of Tuesday, November 26, Russia unleashed a record-breaking 188 Shahed drones, accompanied by 4 Iskander-M ballistic missiles, in the largest drone assault recorded in the 1,000 days since the war began, according to Ukraine’s Air Force.

The 192 air targets were launched from Russia’s Voronezh, Oryol, Kursk, and Krasnodar regions.

Ukrainian air defense forces managed to shoot down 76 drones using fighter jets, helicopters, mobile air defense batteries, and surface-to-air missiles, supplemented by electronic jamming.

An additional 95 drones were diverted using spoofing tactics that manipulate the satellite coordinates guiding the drones and missiles through Ukrainian airspace.

Between November 24 and 26, a record-breaking 43 Shahed drones were sent to Belarus from Ukraine.

Ukraine has been actively and successfully developing electronic warfare (EW) systems to counter enemy drones, which helps preserve its limited air defense systems and missiles. They disable drones by forcing them to change course and crash after running out of fuel, according to a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).