Russian industry experiences setbacks. A new drone jammer from AliExpress

The Russian conglomerate, Rostec, has presented a newly developed drone jamming system, "Czystyulia," to the Russian Ministry of Defense. However, it appears to be a slightly modified version of a system readily available on AliExpress. This article will explain the reason behind this approach and will also detail the performance of the Chinese jammer.

Russia's industry significantly lags in the production of electronic components, heavily relying on foreign solutions. Interestingly, it seems that China, previously a consistent ally, is no longer as supportive as it once was and has imposed export restrictions on Russia.

Simultaneously, Russian companies continue their long-standing tradition of attempting to deceive decision-makers by presenting 'new' solutions that frequently turn out to be pre-existing solutions from the open market, cleverly disguised.

One prime example was the infamous robotic dog at the Army-2022 fair, which was nothing more than an AliExpress model covered in black material. A similar situation was reported by The Moscow Times journalists, who claim that the drone jammer will be sold to the Russian Ministry of Defense at a significantly marked-up price—much like the Sibiryachok-1, which was purchased for 2.5 million rubles despite its AliExpress price being around 200,000 rubles.

The drone-jamming suitcase from China can be purchased for approximately $2,200. According to the manufacturer, the system allows drone jamming at a distance of up to 0.62 or 0.93 miles, depending upon the frequency. The design of the system aims to force a drone to return to its base, block video transmission, or compel a drone to land.

Hidden inside the 13.2 lbs suitcase is a battery capable of sustaining 2 hours of operation and jammers able to disrupt frequencies of 2.4G: 2400-2460 MHz, 5.8G: 5720-5850 MHz, GPSL1: 1580-1620 MHz. This range suffices for commercial drones, assuming that the Ukrainians do not shift the signal frequency. However, against strict military drones such as Warmate or Switchblade, these Chinese jammers are ineffective.