Because of this, jamming is a frequent focus of Flash’s work. In a January publish on his Telegram channel, as an illustration, which individuals considered 48,000 instances, Flash defined how jammers utilized by some Ukrainian tanks have been truly disrupting their very own communications. “The reason for the issues will not be direct interference with the reception vary of the radio station, however very highly effective indicators from a number of [electronic warfare] antennae,” he wrote, suggesting that different tank crews experiencing the identical drawback would possibly attempt spreading their antennas throughout the physique of the tank.
It’s all a part of an existential race wherein Russia and Ukraine are continually looking for new strategies of drone operation, drone jamming, and counter-jamming—and there’s no finish in sight. In March, for instance, Flash says, a frontline contact despatched him images of a Russian drone with what appears like a 10-kilometer-long spool of fiber-optic cable hooked up to its rear—one significantly novel technique to bypass Ukrainian jammers. “It’s actually loopy,” Flash says. “It appears actually unusual, however Russia confirmed us that this was potential.”
Flash’s journeys to the entrance line make it simpler for him to trace developments like this. Not solely does he monitor Russian drone exercise from his souped-up VW, however he can research the issues that troopers face in situ and nurture relationships with individuals who could later ship him helpful intel—and even enemy tools they’ve seized. “The primary drawback is that our generals are situated in Kyiv,” Flash says. “They ship some messages to the navy however don’t perceive how these navy persons are combating on the entrance.”
Apart from the recommendation he supplies to Ukrainian troops, Flash additionally publishes on-line his personal manuals for constructing and working tools that may supply safety from drones. Constructing their very own instruments will be troopers’ best choice, since Western navy expertise is usually costly and home manufacturing is inadequate. Flash recommends shopping for many of the elements on AliExpress, the Chinese language e-commerce platform, to scale back prices.
Whereas all his exercise suggests a detailed or a minimum of cooperative relationship between Flash and Ukraine’s navy, he generally finds himself on the skin wanting in. In a publish on Telegram in Could, in addition to throughout certainly one of our conferences, Flash shared certainly one of his biggest disappointments of the warfare: the navy’s refusal of his proposal to create a database of all of the radio frequencies utilized by Ukrainian forces. However once I talked about this to an worker of a significant digital warfare firm, who requested anonymity to talk about the delicate topic, he steered that the one motive Flash nonetheless complains about that is that the navy hasn’t advised him it already exists. (Given its sensitivity, MIT Expertise Overview was unable to independently verify the existence of this database.)
EMRE ÇAYLAK
This anecdote is emblematic of Flash’s frustration with a navy complicated that will not all the time need his involvement. Ukraine’s armed forces, he has advised me on a number of events, make no try to collaborate with him in an official method. He claims to not obtain any monetary help, both. “I’m attempting to assist,” he says. “However no person desires to assist me.”
Each Flash and Yurii Pylypenko, one other radio fanatic who helps Flash handle his Telegram channel, say navy officers have accused Flash of sharing an excessive amount of details about Ukraine’s operations. Flash claims to confirm each member of his closed Sign teams, which he says solely talk about “technical points” in any case. However he additionally admits the system will not be excellent and that Russians may have gained entry previously. A number of of the troopers I interviewed for this story additionally claimed to have entered the teams with out Flash’s verification course of.
It’s in the end troublesome to find out if some senior workers within the navy maintain Flash at arm’s size due to his common, usually strident criticism—or whether or not Flash’s criticism is the results of being held at arm’s size. Nevertheless it appears unlikely both aspect’s grievances will subside quickly; Pylypenko claims that senior officers have even tried to blackmail him over his involvement in Flash’s work. “They blame my assist,” he wrote to me over Telegram, “as a result of they assume Serhii is a Russian agent reposting Russian propaganda.”