Ukraine deploys Lima electronic warfare system to counter Russian missiles.

Ukraine's domestically produced Lima system helps deflect dozens of missiles and thousands of drones at a significantly lower cost than the Patriot interceptor missile.

Amid a severe shortage of expensive interceptor missiles, the Ukrainian Army is increasing the deployment of its domestically produced Lima electronic warfare (EW) systems. These are seen as a technical solution to minimize damage from long-range Russian attacks by interfering with the target's guidance system.

Mechanism for jamming and deflecting the target.

The Lima electronic warfare system does not operate on a physical destruction mechanism like traditional air defense systems. Instead, it focuses on jamming and distorting satellite navigation signals. By interfering with the communication frequency band, Lima forces unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and cruise missiles to change their trajectories or lose their combat orientation.

According to data from the developers published in Politico magazine, the Lima system has demonstrated significant capabilities in real-world battlefield situations. Over the past 18 months, the system has been recorded as successfully jamming approximately 20,500 Geran drones, while also deflecting dozens of enemy ballistic and cruise missiles.

Low-cost electronic warfare systems sometimes prove more effective than expensive anti-aircraft missiles.

The economic challenges in air defense.

One of the biggest advantages of the Lima system is its cost-effectiveness. Military experts estimate that the cost of deploying and maintaining the EW network is significantly lower than maintaining modern Western-supplied anti-aircraft missile batteries.

Specifically, the manufacturer states that the cost of setting up a defense system for a major city is only around 5 million euros. This figure is equivalent to the price of a single interceptor missile from the US Patriot PAC-3 system. Using Lima allows Ukraine to defend vast areas without relying entirely on limited ammunition supplies from allies.

The electronic warfare system developed by Ukraine has proven highly effective on the battlefield.

Technical challenges and risks

Despite its high effectiveness, the Lima electronic warfare system still has inherent drawbacks. The biggest risk lies in the possibility that missiles or UAVs that are deflected could still fall into populated areas or civilian infrastructure, causing unintended damage instead of being completely destroyed in mid-air.

Furthermore, the effectiveness of EW is not absolute. In some large-scale attacks, such as the May 24th incident, electronic defense systems were unable to stop all targets. Additionally, the use of high-power jamming devices can inadvertently affect the guidance systems of the home military.

Some recent technical reports indicate that Patriot PAC-3 missiles falling in urban areas may be the result of unintended signal interactions with the Lima EW system. However, Ukrainian military officials still believe that deploying Lima is necessary to minimize the probability of Russian missiles hitting their intended targets.

Source: https://baolamdong.vn/ukraine-trien-khai-he-thong-tac-chien-dien-tu-lima-doi-pho-ten-lua-nga-444141.html