resembling a small aircraft flies out over Russian lines, transmitting a stream of high-definition video. The drone searches for valuable targets like ammunition depots, air defense sites and artillery positions deep inside occupied territory. The Russians respond with electronic warfare, throwing up a wall of radio noise impenetrable to most drones.
Doodle Labs previous work in the industrial sector included providing communications for robotic machinery like autonomous trucks in mines and. These tend to be very ‘messy’ environments in radio terms. Some frequencies may be full of traffic from other systems, others will be affected by radio noise and interference from industrial equipment. Communications need to be able to cope and provide a rapid, seamless link.
“Seeing what’s now happening, and the need to respond and move fast, all of a sudden our approach is being appreciated,” says Parikh. “I feel a sense of validation.”The conflict in Ukraine has seen electronic warfare moving at an unprecedented pace. As the drone war escalated from a few thousandDrones like the ubiquitous kamikaze FPVs and ‘Mavik’ scouts are hard to stop, and defenders often rely on jamming.
“Resistance to jamming is the number one requirement from our defense customers at present,” says Parikh. “There are changes to the electronic warfare landscape on a monthly basis, and a rapid release cycle is required to beat the jammers.”Parikh says that jammers are constantly evolving, but they are staying a step ahead with new techniques to defeat them.