School buses in southwestern Russia’s Belgorod region will soon be outfitted with “electronic warfare systems” designed to counter drone attacks, the region’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said Thursday.
These electronic warfare systems work by disrupting radio frequencies, effectively jamming communication, targeting systems and radars used by drones.
The Belgorod region received 55 of the systems, according to Gladkov, which will be installed in school buses operating in districts close to the Ukraine border, including the Volokonovsky, Valuysky, Shchebekensky, Belgorodsky, and Borisovsky districts.
Earlier this year, similar anti-drone systems were installed on ambulances and public transportation vehicles in the region’s border areas.
In response to escalating clashes between Russian and Ukrainian forces, authorities ordered schools within 20 kilometers (12 miles) of the Ukraine border to switch to remote learning.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, at least 200 Belgorod residents have been killed, and more than 1,100 injured in drone attacks and border skirmishes.