Russia has equipped the Geran-4 and Geran-5 with electronic warfare-resistant navigation systems, according to Flash
Russia has begun equipping its “Geran-4” and “Geran-5” attack drones with an optical navigation system that allows them to navigate using images of the terrain without a satellite signal. According to military technology expert Sergey “Flash” Beskrestnov, such a system does not rely on satellite navigation, so traditional electronic warfare (EW) measures cannot directly interfere with this method of navigation.
Russia has begun using a system that allows strike drones to fly without satellite navigation. The principle behind it is that images of the terrain over which the drone is to fly are loaded into its memory in advance.
During flight, the drone compares the preloaded images with the footage captured by its own camera. This allows it to determine its location and adjust its route.
According to Beskrestnov, even ordinary satellite images of the Earth’s surface from Google can be used for basic navigation.
The main feature of optical navigation is that it does not require a constant signal from satellites. Therefore, obstacles that can disrupt satellite navigation and cause drones to veer off course do not directly affect this method of location determination.
At the same time, this does not mean that such drones are completely invulnerable to countermeasures: their resilience depends on their specific design and the technologies used.
According to Serhiy “Flash,” the technology itself is not new to the Russian military. It has long been used on the “Molniya,” V2U, and “Lancet” drones.
However, a similar system was recently discovered on the “Geran-4” and “Geran-5” strike drones, which Russia uses to refer to its Shahed-type drones. The system operates on a flight controller called “Susannin.”
Sergey “Flash” Beskrestnov predicts that in 2027, Russia will more actively develop optical navigation for medium- and long-range drones, as well as low-cost cruise missiles.
Under this scenario, the expanded use of this technology could complicate efforts to counter aerial targets that do not rely exclusively on satellite navigation.
This was reported by Sergey “Flash” Beskrestnov, a special advisor to the President of Ukraine on the development of defense technology.
In addition, Russian forces have begun using a new type of shielded satellite navigation antenna with 32 elements—instead of the previous 16—on Shahed attack drones. This could make it more difficult to counter the drones using electronic warfare (EW) measures.
The automated turrets used in Ukraine’s air defense system shoot down only a portion of the Shahed drones. The primary success in countering such drones comes from the integrated use of various air defense systems.
