Commander of Night Watch: Ukraine Captures 32-Element CRPA Antenna from Russian Shahed

Ukraine acquired a 32-element CRPA antenna that was mounted on a Russian weapon system.

Alkhimik (Alchemist), commander of the Night Watch unit, announced this in his interview with Militarnyi. According to him, this antenna was mounted on a Russian attack drone, the Shahed/Geran.

“We acquired the first antenna about half a year ago. We bought one that had crashed and was being sold on the secondary market,” he shared.

A CRPA (Controlled Radiation Pattern Antenna) is an antenna with a controlled radiation pattern that is installed on drones, missiles, and other equipment to provide protection against electronic warfare (EW) systems. The number of elements determines how many EW sources the antenna can block simultaneously.

According to Alkhimik, this is essentially two antennas, each with 16 elements, assembled into a single unit. The first 16 antennas operate in the L1 band, like the Comet, while the second 16 elements operate in the L2 band. The L1 band operates at a base frequency of approximately 1,575 MHz and is the primary channel for civilian and military satellite navigation. CRPA antennas, which protect only the L1 band, are the most compact and least expensive, which is why they are widely installed on drones and missiles. The L2 band operates at a lower frequency of approximately 1227 MHz and is designed for transmitting secure and encrypted signals.

“In other words, by creating two systems—one operating in the L1 band and the other covering L2/L5—we’ll be able to jam this antenna without any problems,” Alkhimik added.

In May, the Chinese company Harxon, which manufactures CRPA antennas and supplies them for Russian kamikaze drones, presented a new 32-element model. As of today, these antennas have not been detected on Russian weapons systems.