RuAviation

Yuzhno‑Sakhalinsk Airport conducted field exercises to counter unauthorized drone flights. The exercise validated inter‑unit coordination and tested newly deployed domestic Russian systems for detecting and suppressing unmanned aerial systems (UAS), the airport press office reported.

Participants included the airport’s transport security service, rapid response teams, and shift supervisors. The exercise began with a simulated threat: unknown UAS signals were detected within airport boundaries. Operators used the Russian “Bulat” drone detector to identify the signal source. The system determined the platform type, manufacturer and coordinates, and relayed those data to the suppression team.

In the second phase, specialists neutralized the simulated target. They employed a handheld radio‑frequency (RF) disruption device—described in Russian sources as an “electromagnetic rifle”—to block the radio‑link between the UAS and its ground controller. After the uplink was lost, control of the aircraft transferred to the airport’s transport security team. The final phase used a net launcher to physically capture and secure the UAS. Multiple simulated incursions confirmed the robustness of the response procedures and the operational readiness of the equipment.

The drills formed part of a program to raise anti‑terrorism protection levels at airports across the Russian Far East. The use of detectors and electronic countermeasure (ECM) systems at civil aviation sites complies with requirements from Rosaviatsiya (the Federal Air Transport Agency) and FSTEC (the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control) for critical infrastructure protection. For Yuzhno‑Sakhalinsk, this represented the first integrated trial of domestically produced drone‑detection systems.

Valentin Lebedev, head of the airport’s transport security service, said the objective was not only to master the equipment but also to verify inter‑agency coordination. A follow‑up exercise involving regional authorities is scheduled within the next three months.

The “Bulat” complex used on the range is a Russian‑developed system intended for airports and industrial sites. It can detect UAS control frequencies in the 2.4–5.8 GHz band and perform direction‑finding at ranges up to 2 km (approximately 1.1 nautical miles). The handheld RF disruption device is compatible with the system and can selectively jam data links without causing harmful interference to civilian communications.