Dimko Zhluktenko, a Ukrainian drone operator, said on 19/8 that his unit recently fell victim to friendly fire when their drone was disabled by their own jamming equipment.

Zhluktenko revealed this is a common occurrence for Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) because many share the same frequency as Russian devices. One example is the Shark reconnaissance UAV used by the Ukrainian army and the aircraft produced by the Russian company Zala.

"When our electronic warfare units try to jam the Zalas, the Sharks are also affected," he said.

Members of the Ukrainian 15th Brigade prepare to deploy a Shark UAV in Kharkov province in 2023. Photo: *Reuters*

According to Zhluktenko, there are so many UAVs and drones in the sky that Ukrainian soldiers have to coordinate their device operations while also trying to avoid interfering with each other's signals.

In just a 2 km stretch of the front line, there can be more than 60 drones of various types in the air. In the 5 km area that Zhluktenko is responsible for, there are always three Russian reconnaissance UAVs operating at any given time. The sheer number of objects makes it very difficult for Ukrainian soldiers to distinguish friend from foe.

Zhluktenko once recounted that distinguishing drones is so challenging that soldiers sometimes panic and attempt to jam everything in the sky. "They press the button to jam everything on every frequency because they are so scared," he said.

One drone pilot admitted this chaos sometimes leads Ukrainian units to target everything they see. "If it's actually enemy equipment, the defense forces have very little time to act before the drone drops explosives or makes a suicide dive," he said.

Drones are being used in the Ukraine war more frequently than in any other conflict in history. They are used for surveillance, identifying enemy positions, and launching suicide attacks that can destroy equipment worth millions of USD.

A member of the Ukrainian 57th Brigade operates a drone in Kharkov province on 12/8. Photo: *AP*

Electronic warfare is one solution to counter this type of equipment. Although numerous drones operate simultaneously in the sky, they often operate on a limited number of frequencies. This has caused several issues, including the jamming of friendly devices.

Drone pilots on both sides sometimes intercept images transmitted by enemy drones, providing intelligence about areas on the other side of the front line.

Pham Giang (*Business Insider*)