[Entretien exclusif] Drone piloting, military communication, interception of exchanges: digital tools are decisive in the war between Russia and Ukraine. Meeting with a former elite American soldier, now fighting for Ukraine.
They have already experienced war. Many former American, British, Canadian and French soldiers left to take up arms for the Ukrainian cause, in the face of the Russian invasion. It is difficult to estimate today the size of the Ukrainian international legion; it is made up of 20,000 fighters, according to the government.
Among them, former members of elite American corps. In July 2023, we met “Summer”, who visited Afghanistan and is a specialist in field communications. He joined his companions in the spring of 2022 in the war between Ukraine and Russia. “Summer” told us how her unit uses new technologies to trap the “enemy”.
Numerama — After Having experienced Afghanistan and other hostile terrains, what major differences have you noticed with your previous engagements?
Summer — First, we have never faced an adversary capable of deploying so many men, weapons and technologies frontally. It’s a war like there hasn’t been in a long time. We are of course trained, but we did not yet have combat experience with planes, helicopters, different models of armored vehicles, well-established communications between the adversaries.
You must be extra careful with each mission, anticipate Russian exchanges, check that drones are not monitoring you. You can never be completely calm, you must always tell yourself that the enemy is perhaps observing you.
How do you counter these drones, once you spot them?
There is some equipment, like anti-drone guns to jam the signal, but the easiest thing is to shoot it. Commercial drones are very fragile, a well-placed shot is enough to bring them down. Many devices are destroyed this way.
The same techniques are used opposite?
Both armies make the same use of drones, and when the Ukrainians find a new tactic, the Russians quickly copy it. In my unit, drones are used first to take a look before acting.
As a communications specialist, do you regularly use Starlink kits (from SpaceX) on the frontline?
It happens. We have a whole bunch of military equipment to communicate. Starlink is useful, but not the most important element. To tell the truth, when the Ukrainian soldiers see me disembark with a Starlink kit in my hands, they all smile, because it means first of all that they will be able to interact with their families. The kits are most often used for communications with the rear of the front.
Concerning connections with a drone, this has already been useful to us, but it is not an optimal solution. There were some disruptions and we have since found other alternatives.
Many sensitive Russian communications were intercepted and broadcast. Is this one of your missions on the front?
This is an essential task. We use many techniques to intercept exchanges, sometimes using cyber tools on computers and smartphones. We look for targets and we manage to trap them, to infiltrate their network. We are trapping Russian phones. Some people have been monitored for months, we then analyze their movements to identify strategic points.
We also use StingRays (an IMSI-catcher), a sort of surveillance box that imitates a cell tower to force phones to connect to it. It happens that military radio communications are intercepted by simply capturing the frequency. Finally, there is always human intelligence, thanks to people located closest to the Russian army.
Were you able to inspect the Russian equipment?
Yes, the Russians leave a lot of equipment behind. We dissected a radio, for example, and it’s incredible how many foreign components you find inside. There is almost nothing Russian in some equipment. A huge part is made in China, in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, but we also find Western components, particularly American. I don’t think the companies involved are aware, there are so many routes to the black market.
Have you noticed a difference since the arrival of American and European equipment?
There is still a big learning phase and many materials are not fully used or remain on hold. This equipment is valuable to Ukrainians, so it is preserved in the rear.
I have seen a difference in training through this past year. We started by teaching them everything about communications, for example with PowerPoints in front of dozens of soldiers every day. They are motivated, they learned very quickly and the difference in technological level with the start of the invasion is now incomparable. This will play out in the future.
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