Russia and Ukraine Race for Control of the Electromagnetic Battlefield

Russia and Ukraine are locked in an accelerating electronic warfare contest, using jamming, electronic deception and artificial intelligence to disrupt enemy weapons and overcome opposing defences.

The struggle centres on control of the electromagnetic spectrum, an invisible battlefield where interference can undermine the signals that drones and missiles rely on to operate.

Jamming seeks to block those signals, while electronic deception aims to mislead systems rather than simply silence them. Both approaches offer ways to disrupt an attack without directly striking the weapon itself.

Artificial intelligence is also part of the contest, as the two sides seek to defeat electronic countermeasures while improving their own ability to interfere with hostile systems.

The result is a race of adaptation: efforts to disable drones and missiles drive fresh attempts to bypass interference. Beyond the visible fighting, that struggle is becoming a key part of the battle for an advantage in Ukraine.