Electronic Warfare to Protect Critical Infrastructure: First Results of the Ministry of Defense Experiment

Energy and defense companies have begun purchasing electronic warfare (EW) equipment to protect their facilities as part of a pilot project of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (MOD).

The first operators of critical infrastructure have already purchased and installed electronic warfare systems at their own expense, the Ministry of Defense reported.

The purchased equipment is transferred to the Ukrainian army for free operation and is used exclusively to cover specific facilities, the Ministry of Defense emphasized.

It also stressed that the electronic warfare equipment cannot be used for other tasks or moved to other regions as part of the experiment.

Minister of Defense of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said that the initiative is being implemented in pursuance of the decision of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief’s Staff.

According to him, the equipment is already in operation to protect facilities and is an example of cooperation between the state, business and the army.

As part of the experiment, a standard form of an agreement on the transfer of electronic warfare equipment for free use by military units was approved.

A plan to expand the list of authorized electronic warfare equipment has also been identified and feedback from critical infrastructure operators has been collected.

The participation of enterprises is coordinated by the Main Directorate of Electronic and Cyber Warfare of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which conducts threat modeling for each facility.

After that, companies are authorized to purchase or import the recommended equipment and install it at their facilities.

In addition, powerful electronic warfare equipment is used only by authorized military units that connect it to the national air defense system.

Earlier, the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the National Guard introduced the possibility of ordering electronic warfare equipment through the DOT-Chain Defense marketplace.