New Russian mobile app can detect Ukraine artillery? App uses phones microphone to collet vital data . Why phones on battlefield may be a double-edged sword .
The Russian military has developed a software for networked smartphones to locate Ukrainian artillery . The system has reportedly based on technology that was first used during World War I
How does the Russian system work?
According to Russian military journal ‘Arsenal of the fatherland their military has developed a technique to locate Ukrainian artillery .Their approaches uses four smartphones with a special app located four to six km back from the frontline.
Data from the smartphone microphone is sent to a central tablet computer with another app to calculate the firing position . When the app locates a possible firing positions drones will be displaced to scout the area and confirm. .
Once the location has confirmed a counter battery strike is launched against the Ukrainian artillery . However the new Russian system is not considered to be completely reliable . The system may suffer from unexpected errors due to atmospheric conditions or the reflection of sound from terrain features.
Experts also say that Russian claims about new military technology should be approached with caution as Moscow has a track record for vaporware.
New technology based on old principles
The Russian system is similar to the system developed by Nobel Prize winner Lawrence Bragg working for the British army Bragg used widely spaced microphones to automatically record distant gunfire via a galvanometer. The system then used a pen to leave traces on an unspooling roll of paper as it detected the location of a firing position to within 10 minutes .
Why using smartphones is a double-edged sword
Smartphones offer a handy combination of multiple distributed microphones computing power and precise GPS locations . Moreover as one Russian team is trying to harness smartphones to locate artillery the leaderships is trying to ban them from the frontline .
Ukraine has reportedly been detecting Russian cellphones signals and using them to direct its artillery strikes . Russian ministry of defense blamed the death of 89 Russian servicemen in Makiivka on authorised of mobile phone by its troops .
Artillery duels in Ukraine war
Artillery duels have become an important aspects in the ongoing war in Ukraine . Russia started with a massive advantages but it got diminished due to the destruction of ammunition stockpiles by HIMARS . Moreover Ukraine has also successfully managed to mislead Russia counter battery fire .
Both armies were spotting artillery firing with counter-battery radar that detected and tracked artillery shells back to their firing point . The US and UK have supplied counter-battery radar to Ukraine and Russia has its own Zoopark-1 counterbattery system . However the radar emit radio waves which can be detected and used to locate and target radar.
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