Ukraine’s acoustic air target detection system effectively locates Russian strike drones and coordinates air defense systems.

General James Hecker, Commander of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa and the Commander of the Allied Air Command, stated this.

The airspace monitoring network, consisting of thousands of acoustic sensors across the country, has proven to be highly effective in helping to detect and track Russian drones at low altitudes.

“Ukraine had to improvise to track numerous objects. They took 8,000 acoustic sensors and installed them on 6-foot poles all over the country. The microphones were placed so that they could determine the direction of the drones,” Hecker said.

He noted that the U.S. military itself is currently testing this technology to see if it could meet the needs of the United States for additional means of monitoring and combating UAVs.

According to the American general, each such acoustic station costs about $500. By combining the information received, a network of such stations determines the speed and direction of the drones’ flight.

He stressed that the low cost is not the only advantage of such a system. It can also share collected data with mobile fire groups armed with machine guns.

“In six hours, they teach a fighter to look at a tablet that displays the direction of the drones’ movement,” he says.

Hecker gave an example: when 84 drones entered the country, they were all tracked by an acoustic system. Using its data, mobile fire teams intercepted and destroyed 80 drones.

According to Hecker, Ukraine has made great steps in developing a network for surveillance and recognition of air objects. In combination with “AA artillery” units, it is highly effective.

“This is much more effective than intercepting such targets with expensive Patriot or SM-2 missiles,” the general says, alluding to the current hostilities in the Persian Gulf.

Zvook

One of the acoustic monitoring systems currently operating in Ukraine is the Zvook project, a hardware and software system capable of acoustically detecting cruise missiles, helicopters, drones, and fighter jets at low and medium altitudes.

Read more about it in Militarnyi’s report from the Ukrainian #Brave1 defense technology platform.