CODE380 created a receiver for viewing video from Russian drones — TechCrunch

Kyiv-based startup CODE380 has developed the pocket-sized D·Vision SDR receiver, which Ukrainian units can use to view video from the cameras of many Russian drones. As TechCrunch reports, the device receives video signals transmitted over the air without encryption. This makes it possible to see the drone’s direction of movement and the target its operator is aiming at.

Compact receiver

The D·Vision SDR weighs about 10 ounces. According to Defense News, this is less than half the weight of some other Ukrainian models that weigh several pounds.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

The receiver also operates on radio frequencies that newer Russian Molniya drones began using to transmit video in June. Radio specialist and adviser to the president of Ukraine Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov wrote in a Facebook post cited by Defense News that most detectors do not detect these frequencies or detect them poorly. He also warned that excessive reliance on a detector can be dangerous.

Technology limitations

Beskrestnov warned that a switch to digital video could deprive similar receivers of the ability to receive the signal. The New York Times reported in August that some Molniya drones are controlled using artificial intelligence, use Nvidia chips, and emit no signals.