Russia to spend $22 million on radio network analyzers to combat drone attacks in Rostov region and annexed Crimea

The Main Radio Frequency Center (GRChTs), an entity overseen by Russia's federal censorship agency, has purchased equipment for determining the source of radio emissions and for spectrum analysis, according to Forbes Russia.

The radio network analyzers, which cost a total of 1.77 billion rubles ($22.46 million), are earmarked for use by the center’s branches in annexed Crimea and in Rostov-on-Don. Forbes Russia noted that the purchase is unusually high for the agency, which has spent a maximum of 3.36 billion rubles ($42.55) annually on contracts in recent years.

According to Denis Kuskov, the general director of the Russian IT news site Telecom Daily, the purchase can be explained by the fact that Russian companies are currently building mobile infrastructure on the peninsula. At the same time, he added, the technology can also be used to locate drone operators and to determine drones’ launch and control sites. If it’s placed properly, he said, the equipment will “allow [the Russian authorities] to solve more than 80 percent of the problem of drone incursions into Russia.”