Stealth military radios, designed to mask signals from ambient noise, are exceptionally resistant to jamming and detection. This capability allows drone operators to function without being exposed.

With drones rapidly gaining prominence in warfare, electronic warfare has taken on a new intensity. In the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, both factions deploy jammers to disrupt drone communications, while also capturing radio signals to identify drone operators for coordinating artillery assaults.

We are a startup named Rampart News, and we’ve created a radio that features dual layers of protection, making it extremely hard to detect signals. The Stratawave Radio disperses its signal across a wide spectrum rather than encrypting it and broadcasting on a single frequency, rendering emissions subdued and harder to identify.

While similar methods have been employed in the past, Stratawave enhances this approach. By distributing the signal over the radio spectrum, interception becomes challenging, but the mere existence of radio transmissions remains apparent. To obscure this, Stratawave combines the entire broadcast, masking the presence of the radio signal amid ambient noise.

The first layer of protection resembles encoding a letter and then tearing it into substantial pieces. Even if adversaries can’t decipher the message, they can still perceive its existence. The second layer, however, is akin to reducing the letters to dust.

“Without the correct encryption key and algorithm, the signal manifests as noise on alternative receivers,” explains Aaron Correa from Rampart.

The company introduced Stratawave at the Pentagon Technical Preparation Experiment (TREX) event held in Camp Atterbury, Indiana, in August. During the event, the operator piloted the drone directly above the jamming system without encountering any disruptions.

The device manufacturer claims it has undergone over 60 diverse jamming trials. The counter-drone systems were unable to detect emissions from either the drone or its operator, nor could they triangulate their location.

Theoretically, StrataWave enables drone operators to use higher power levels without drawing fire, facilitating safer communication over long distances. Ukrainian commander from the Typhoon Drone Unit, Michael, asserts that they typically keep their power output as low as possible to evade detection.

“As soon as you activate a transmitter with a standard output of 1-5 watts, you increase both the signal strength and your exposure,” Michael states. “More potent, distinctive signals are easier to detect and pinpoint through triangulation.”

Electronic warfare resembles a cat-and-mouse dynamic, with advancements constantly evolving to counteract one another. In Ukraine, drone technologies are refreshed every few weeks to surpass existing jamming methods. Rampart asserts that when adversaries attempt to detect or jam Stratawave, they effectively start from scratch.

Thomas Withington, an electronic warfare specialist at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a British defense think tank, suggests that this is not the definitive turn in the radio and jamming conflict. “Radio frequency engineers inform us that new systems seldom perform flawlessly.”

Withington highlights that cognitive radio systems incorporating AI and extensive datasets increasingly stand to uncover hidden signals cloaked in noise. However, deciphering Stratawave may take time. “This type of system undoubtedly offers a temporary advantage, which could be all you require,” he concludes.