The Krasukha (russian: Красуха; English: Belladonna or Deadly Nightshade) is a Russian mobile, ground-based,

electronic warfare Electronic warfare (EW) is any action involving the use of the electromagnetic spectrum (EM spectrum) or directed energy to control the spectrum, attack an enemy, or impede enemy assaults. The purpose of electronic warfare is to deny the opponen ...

(EW) system. This system is produced by the KRET corporation on different wheeled platforms. The Krasukha's primary targets are airborne radio-electronics (such as

UAVs An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without any human pilot, crew, or passengers on board. UAVs are a component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), which includes adding a ground-based controlle ...

) and airborne systems guided by radar. The Krasukha has multiple applications in the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (, ), commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military forces of Russia. In terms of active-duty personnel, they are the world's fifth-largest military force, with at least two m ...

Krasukha-2

The Krasukha-2 is a

S-band The S band is a designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for a part of the microwave band of the electromagnetic spectrum covering frequencies from 2 to 4 gigahertz (GHz). Thus it crosses the conventional ...

system designed to

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

Airborne Early Warning and Control Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...

(AWACS) aircraft such as the

Boeing E-3 Sentry The Boeing E-3 Sentry is an American airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft developed by Boeing. E-3s are commonly known as AWACS (Airborne Warning and Control System). Derived from the Boeing 707 airliner, it provides all-wea ...

at ranges of up to . The Krasukha-2 can also jam other airborne radars, such as those for radar-guided missiles. The missiles, once jammed, then receive a false target away from the original to ensure that the missiles no longer pose a threat. The Krasukha-2 guards mobile high-priority targets such as the

9K720 Iskander The 9K720 Iskander (russian: «Искандер»; NATO reporting name SS-26 Stone) is a mobile short-range ballistic missile system produced and deployed by the Russian military. The missile systems () are to replace the obsolete OTR-21 ''Toc ...

SRBM A short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) is a ballistic missile with a range (aeronautics), range of about or less. In past and potential regional conflicts, these missiles have been and would be used because of the short distances between some coun ...

Krasukha-4

The Krasukha-4 is a broadband multifunctional jamming station mounted on a BAZ-6910-022 four-axle-chassis. It complements the Krasukha-2 system by operating in the

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is rather indefinitely set at approxim ...

and

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

, and counters airborne radar aircraft such as the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JSTAR) Northrop Grumman E-8. The Krasukha-4 has enough range to effectively disrupt

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an orbit around Earth with a period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in LEO, with an altitude never mor ...

(LEO)

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioisotope ...

s and can cause permanent damage to targeted radio-electronic devices. Ground based radars are also a viable target for the Krasukha-4.

Operators

* **

Russian Ground Forces The Russian Ground Forces (russian: Сухопутные войска �ВSukhoputnyye voyska V}), also known as the Russian Army (, ), are the land forces of the Russian Armed Forces. The primary responsibilities of the Russian Ground Forces ...

* * * *

Operational history

Krasukha jammers were reportedly deployed to support Russian forces in Syria. They have reportedly been blocking small U.S. surveillance drones from receiving GPS satellite signals. During the Turkish intervention in the Syrian civil war, the complex apparently destroyed a

Bayraktar Bayraktar may refer to: *Bayraktar (surname) *Bayraktar, Bayburt, a village in Turkey * Bayraktar UAV, a brand of Turkish drone **Bayraktar (song), Ukraine, 2022, about the UAV in the Russian invasion * ''Bayraktar''-class tank landing ship, Turk ...

drone by causing it to lose control, subsequently crashing. In July 2018, an

OSCE The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) is the world's largest regional security-oriented intergovernmental organization with observer status at the United Nations. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, prom ...

monitoring mission drone recorded a 1L269 Krasukha-2 among other electronic warfare equipment deployed near

Chornukhyne Chornukhyne ( uk, Чорнухине) is an urban-type settlement in Alchevsk Raion of Luhansk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, but was formerly in Popasna Raion and then Perevalsk Raion. In the 2001 Ukrainian census, the town's population was 7,782. T ...

, Ukraine. In 2020, Krasukha was reportedly operating around the Russian military base at Gyumri in

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

to counter the use by

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

of Turkish-made Bayraktar armed drones as well as Israel-made Harop

loitering munition A loitering munition (also known as a suicide droneLoitering Muniti ...

(suicide drones). The first export contract was officially signed in August 2021. Krasukha-4 models are also being employed in the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Ukrainian forces captured one of these devices in the field near Kyiv. A photograph posted to social media claims to show part of the system, which has been separated from its truck mount and shows some damage. The unit was then sent to the United States for examination.

References

{{authority control Concern Radio-Electronic Technologies Electronic warfare equipment Electronic warfare Military electronics of Russia Military vehicles introduced in the 2010s Military vehicles of Russia Modern military equipment of Russia

Krasukha-2

Krasukha-4

Operators

Operational history

See also

References