French media: Why are Iranian drones so hard to interfere with
The low-cost Shahed drones from Iran, when deployed, often appear in hundreds or even thousands, causing considerable damage to U.S. military bases, oil facilities, luxury resorts, and urban landscapes in the Gulf countries, leaving a shadow on international tourists and investors. Why are these drones difficult to interfere with? Below we introduce the experts' views.
Autonomous navigation
GPS signal interference is common in the Gulf region, with the purpose of disrupting the navigation of enemy forces and drones, but this also causes serious interference with maritime navigation and daily life. Despite this, many Iranian drones have successfully hit their targets.
Thomas Wittington, a guest researcher at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), explained to AFP: "Avoiding interference by not using GPS."
Iranian drones activate the GPS receiver before takeoff or shortly after takeoff to determine their location, and then the gyroscope takes over, measuring the speed, direction, and position of the aircraft based on the takeoff location, implementing autonomous inertial navigation.
When attacking a target, the drone can choose to re-enable GPS or continue with inertial navigation, but the latter may reduce the accuracy of the strike.
Anti-jamming mechanism
Such devices have been found on the "Shahed" type drones supplied by Iran to Moscow.
A 2023 report by the U.S. think tank "Institute for Science and International Security" stated that some of these drones are equipped with "advanced antenna jamming systems that eliminate enemy jamming signals while retaining the required GPS signals."
A European industry source told AFP that anti-jamming devices were found on drone wreckage recently discovered in Cyprus.
Professor Todd Humphreys from the University of Texas at Austin said that such drones "are assembled from components available on the market, but have most of the functions of U.S. military GPS equipment."
Additionally, regarding the manufacturing materials, experts analyze that Iranian drones are usually made of lightweight materials that can absorb radar waves, such as plastic or fiberglass. Their small size and low flight altitude allow them to slip through the eyes of detection systems.
How to prevent it?
Some national militaries are developing ways to intercept drones using artillery, missiles, or even lasers to prevent drones. It is reported that Israel and the United States are the most advanced in this field.
Ukraine claims that they have successfully interfered with the signals of a considerable number of Russian drones. Between mid-May and mid-July 2025, Ukrainian forces paralyzed 4,652 Russian drones through "electronic warfare."
Source: rfi
Original: toutiao.com/article/1859587756290048/
Statement: The article represents the views of the author.