NATO will send 'hundreds' of signal-jammers to Ukraine to counter Russia's onslaught of explosive Iranian-made suicide drones

businessinsider:  NATO is sending Ukraine signal-jammers so it can counter deadly Iranian-made suicide drones that Russian forces have used to terrorize cities far from the front lines.

Speaking virtually at the Berlin Foreign Policy Forum on Tuesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the military alliance will deliver "hundreds" of counter-drone jammers to Ukraine in the "coming days."

These systems will help Ukraine address the "specific threat of drones, including, of course, Iranian-made drones that are now causing a lot of havoc or suffering in Ukraine," Stoltenberg said during the virtual interview.

Stoltenberg initially remarked on the future delivery of drone jammers at a press conference in Brussels last week, where he said the systems can "help render ineffective Russian and Iranian-made drones ... and to protect Ukrainian people and critical infrastructure."

The counter-drone equipment will be part of a package that also includes fuel, winter clothing, and medical supplies, Stoltenberg said last week.

"I welcome @JensStoltenberg's statement on NATO planning to deliver anti-drone air defense systems to Ukraine in the coming days. This is just what we discussed and requested," Ukrainian Foreign Ministry Dmytro Kuleba said after Tuesday's announcement. "For Ukraine, this means more saved lives and a better protected energy infrastructure. Thank you, NATO."

A composite photo showing a drone in the sky in Kyiv and the aftermath of it hitting in Kyiv, Ukraine, on October 17, 2022.YASUYOSHI CHIBA/AFP via Getty Images; Insider

Moscow's forces in recent weeks have used Iranian-made suicide drones to ramp up strikes on Ukrainian cities far from the war's front lines, where Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops have faced weeks of military setbacks. As recently as Monday, Ukrainian officials said Russia used a swarm of suicide drones to attack Kyiv — killing several.

Drones like the ones pictured in Kyiv are known as the Shahed-136. Unlike traditional unmanned aerial vehicles, the Shahed-136 is a loitering munition, which means it can hang around before identifying a target, flying into it, and detonating — leading people to refer to it as a suicide or kamikaze drone. They are relatively small systems packed with explosives and carry a range of around 1,250 miles.

These recent drone attacks, which have proven to be deadly, prompted the US and other NATO allies to rush to send advanced and much-sought-after air defense systems to Kyiv.

War experts, meanwhile, have questioned Putin's decision to expend his low inventory of long-range precision munitions on terror campaigns against civilian areas and infrastructure, saying it's an unsustainable tactic and unlikely to yield positive results for Russia.

"The aim is to reduce the determination of the Ukrainian people to stand up against the brutal Russian invasion of their country, but I think [Putin] will fail, as he has failed in all the other attempts in trying to take control of Ukraine since the invasion in February," Stoltenberg said on Tuesday.