Because of this, jamming is a frequent focus of Flash’s work. In a January put up on his Telegram channel, as an example, which individuals considered 48,000 occasions, Flash defined how jammers utilized by some Ukrainian tanks had been really disrupting their very own communications. “The reason for the issues isn’t direct interference with the reception vary of the radio station, however very highly effective indicators from a number of [electronic warfare] antennae,” he wrote, suggesting that different tank crews experiencing the identical downside would possibly strive spreading their antennas throughout the physique of the tank.
It’s all a part of an existential race by which Russia and Ukraine are always attempting to find new strategies of drone operation, drone jamming, and counter-jamming—and there’s no finish in sight. In March, for instance, Flash says, a frontline contact despatched him photographs of a Russian drone with what seems to be like a 10-kilometer-long spool of fiber-optic cable hooked up to its rear—one notably novel technique to bypass Ukrainian jammers. “It’s actually loopy,” Flash says. “It seems to be actually unusual, however Russia confirmed us that this was potential.”
Flash’s journeys to the entrance line make it simpler for him to trace developments like this. Not solely does he monitor Russian drone exercise from his souped-up VW, however he can research the issues that troopers face in situ and nurture relationships with individuals who might later ship him helpful intel—and even enemy gear they’ve seized. “The primary downside is that our generals are positioned in Kyiv,” Flash says. “They ship some messages to the navy however don’t perceive how these navy individuals are combating on the entrance.”
In addition to the recommendation he gives to Ukrainian troops, Flash additionally publishes on-line his personal manuals for constructing and working gear that may provide safety from drones. Constructing their very own instruments may be troopers’ most suitable choice, since Western navy know-how is usually costly and home manufacturing is inadequate. Flash recommends shopping for a lot of the components on AliExpress, the Chinese language e-commerce platform, to cut back prices.
Whereas all his exercise suggests a detailed or at the very least cooperative relationship between Flash and Ukraine’s navy, he typically finds himself on the surface trying in. In a put up on Telegram in Could, in addition to throughout one in every of our conferences, Flash shared one in every of his biggest disappointments of the warfare: the navy’s refusal of his proposal to create a database of all of the radio frequencies utilized by Ukrainian forces. However once I talked about this to an worker of a serious digital warfare firm, who requested anonymity to discuss the delicate topic, he recommended that the one cause Flash nonetheless complains about that is that the navy hasn’t instructed him it already exists. (Given its sensitivity, MIT Expertise Overview was unable to independently verify the existence of this database.)
EMRE ÇAYLAK
This anecdote is emblematic of Flash’s frustration with a navy complicated that will not at all times need his involvement. Ukraine’s armed forces, he has instructed me on a number of events, make no try to collaborate with him in an official method. He claims to not obtain any monetary help, both. “I’m attempting to assist,” he says. “However no person desires to assist me.”
Each Flash and Yurii Pylypenko, one other radio fanatic who helps Flash handle his Telegram channel, say navy officers have accused Flash of sharing an excessive amount of details about Ukraine’s operations. Flash claims to confirm each member of his closed Sign teams, which he says solely talk about “technical points” in any case. However he additionally admits the system isn’t excellent and that Russians might have gained entry prior to now. A number of of the troopers I interviewed for this story additionally claimed to have entered the teams with out Flash’s verification course of.
It’s in the end troublesome to find out if some senior employees within the navy maintain Flash at arm’s size due to his common, typically strident criticism—or whether or not Flash’s criticism is the results of being held at arm’s size. However it appears unlikely both aspect’s grievances will subside quickly; Pylypenko claims that senior officers have even tried to blackmail him over his involvement in Flash’s work. “They blame my assist,” he wrote to me over Telegram, “as a result of they assume Serhii is a Russian agent reposting Russian propaganda.”