War in Ukraine: the Stupor, an electromagnetic anti-drone rifle used by Russia

Here is the Russian Stupor, a so-called formidable weapon, capable of neutralizing Ukrainian drones in the Donbass. Real danger from the skies, or a propaganda weapon to frighten the adversary?

As Futura has repeatedly reported, drone have become essential in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. They are used for surveillance to locate troops and armaments on the ground and target them with artillery. They can also be used directly as weapons by dropping or firing ammunition, or by Spicy on a target. In any case, they swarm in the sky of Donbass. For Wrestle against these drone which allow the Ukrainian army to carry out precise and effective counter-battery fire with the guns delivered by the West, in addition to the missile SAM, the Russians draw an electromagnetic weapon.

The Russian News Agency CASS claims that this weapon system, called Stupor, was developed by the Main Robotics Research and Testing Center of the Russian Defense Ministry. The device cuts the connection between the drones and their operators. In some cases, the neutralized drone can be recovered. This is particularly the case of consumer drones quadcopters employed by both sides. From the moment the signal is lost, the drone remains in hover until its battery runs out. When the level of it reaches a critical stage, the drone lands where it is.

The Ukrainians also have their own anti-drone weapon

For a drone with aircraft architecture, link loss ends in a crash. Difficult to know if this electromagnetic rifle is able to reach the famous Bayraktar TB2 of the Ukrainian army and if it is effective against them, but it has the ability to neutralize small observation drones with its range of two kilometers. It covers a sector of 20° in front of it. TASS says the Stupor is currently in use west of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Despite this announcement from TASS, the Stupor is not new, since it was already unveiled in 2017 at an international fair. It would have been tested in Syria.

For the moment, it is difficult to know if the Russian army actually uses this type of weapon and if it really causes havoc. In any case, TASS highlights it. On the other hand, for its part the Ukrainian army does not hesitate to use its equivalent. It uses the KVS G-6, made in Ukraine. The weapon is based on the same principle as the Stupor and has a greater range (3.5 kilometers). Its battery can power a wave for 30 minutes. It should be noted that the French army and in particular the gendarmerie are also equipped with this type of musket to neutralize consumer drones. This was the case recently during the festival of metal Hellfest, held in Clisson at the end of June. An undeclared British remote pilot flew his drone over the festival. The drone was seized and the offender geolocated and arrested.