Russian EW Jamming System in Syria blocks C4ISR

Russia’s Winning the Electronic War | Foreign Policy 

In Ukraine and Syria, Russian forces are using high-tech equipment to jam drones and block battlefield communications -- and forcing the U.S. to scramble to catch up.

Russian military Krasukha-4

The 1RL257 or Krasukha-4 is a Russian-made mobile electronic warfare system designed and manufactured by the Company Bryansk Electromechanical Plant (KRET). The Krasukha-4 is intended to neutralize Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) spy satellites, ground-based radars and airborne radars (AWACS) at ranges between 150 to 300 kilometers. The system is also able to cause damage to the enemy's EW (Electronic Warfare) systems and communications. In November 2013, Russia’s Defense Ministry has received the first electronic warfare system Krasukha-4. The stations, which will complement Krasukha-2 units already in use by the Russian army, will provide the military with powerful radar jamming capability. More specifically, the Krasukha-4 has been described as a tool against “flying radars,” such as the USAF E-8 Joint STARS aircraft, or reconnaissance satellites - like the United States’ Lacrosse satellite - and a means of protection against surveillance and combat unmanned aerial vehicles, otherwise known as drones.

Russia using electronic warfare to cloak its actions in Syria from Isis and Nato
On 5 October, Russian military Krasukha-4, its mobile, ground-based electronic warfare systems, were spotted in Syria. The Krasukha-4 is a broadband multifunctional jamming station that is based on a BAZ-6910-022 four-axle-chassis and is able to neutralise low-Earth orbit (LEO) spy satellites such as the US Lacrosse/Onyx series, airborne surveillance radars and radar-guided ordinance at ranges between 150km-300km.

According to David Stupples, a Professor of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Director of Electronic Warfare at City University London, the  Krasukha-4 is being used by the Russian military to deny IS surveillance information and radio communications.

Richag-AV system, mounted on the Mi-8MTPR1

Russian Jamming System Blocks All NATO Electronics Inside Bubble 600 Km in Diameter over Syria
Radar, Satellites, Communications All Disrupted; System Shifts Military Balance in Favor of Russia
The technology in question seems similar to the KRET Richag-AV system, although it apparently functions on a larger scale. A tactical version of this system was presented to journalists in the Russian city of Back in April 2015. As Sputnik reported then:

“The Richag-AV system, mounted on the Mi-8MTPR1 (a variant of the Mi-8MTB5-1 helicopter) is said to have no global equivalent. Its electronic countermeasures system is designed to jam radar, sonar and other detection systems in the aims of defending aircraft, helicopters, drones, ground and naval forces against air-to-air and surface-to-air defense systems within a radius of several hundred kilometers. It can be mounted on units from any branch of the armed forces, including helicopters and airplanes, as well as ground and ship-based forces. The Mi8-MTPR1-based Richag-AV platform, using multi-beam antenna arrays with DRFM technology, is designed to actively jam and thus ‘blind’ radar systems in order to defend against radio-electronic guided weapons systems. In a combat situation, the system would operate as part of an aviation shock attack group aimed at breaking through virtually any defense system, blinding everything up to and including the US MIM-104
‘Patriot’ anti-aircraft missile system.”^[i]

NATO supreme commander and US Air Force General Philip Breedlove was probably talking about this new KRET system when he addressed the German Marshall Fund on Monday, September 28. Here Breedlove had warned that Russia was creating an “A2/AD bubble” over the Syrian coast, and the eastern Mediterranean. A2/AD is the abbreviation for anti-access and area denial. Breedlove pointed out that Russia has already established such bubbles over the Baltic Sea at the Russian  exclave of Kaliningrad, and also over the Crimea and the black Sea.

Russia’s Winning the Electronic War | Foreign Policy

In Ukraine and Syria, Russian forces are using high-tech equipment to jam drones and block battlefield communications -- and forcing the U.S. to scramble to catch up.