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LONDON—Ukraine is flying Windracers Ultra drones on electronic intelligence (elint) missions, the founder of the uncrewed air system manufacturer has revealed.
An undisclosed number of the 400-kg (880-lb.), twin-engine UAS donated to Ukraine by the UK Defense Ministry have been adapted for the elint mission along the front lines, to gather intelligence on the Russian invaders’ radar and jamming systems.
Stephen Wright, Windracers’ founder and group executive chair, told reporters at the unveiling of the latest version of the Ultra aircraft that the Ukrainian armed forces had been trying the aircraft in a range of roles but that the “main use case was electronic intelligence.”
“This has become a drone war, and electronic intelligence and jamming are an essential part of warfare, so the aircraft has been seeded with a load of technology to monitor the electronic traffic,” Wright said.
He suggested the Ultra is acting as a mini-Boeing RC-135 Rivet Joint Elint platform, saying it provides a similar capability for 1/100th the price. The Rivet Joint, however, monitors a much broader part of the electromagnetic spectrum and can do it in real-time at stand-off ranges. Nonetheless, Wright said the Ukrainians appreciated the Windracer platform as it can operate autonomously from takeoff to landing without communication if necessary.
This suggests the data recorded from onboard sensors needs to be analyzed after a flight.
He also suggested the Ukrainian examples had been modified to operate in a GPS-denied environment. It is unclear whether the aircraft were modified for the role in Ukraine and who provided elint equipment onboard.
Wright said the use of the Ultra UAS in Ukraine has provided a significant boost for the company, helping it cross the so-called valley of death associated with developing innovative technology but lacking revenue generation.
Janes first reported the use of the Ultra in Ukraine last May, saying it was being used for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as front-line resupply.
The aircraft were supplied as part of the UK’s ongoing UAS support program to Ukraine.
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