Justin Ling
Above the bar at a small brewpub in Užupis, a hip neighborhood in Vilnius, Lithuania, hangs a portrait of a Madonna-like saint cradling a weapon—something between a rifle, a bazooka, and a 5G antenna.
The caption below reads: “Saint EDM4S.”
EDM4S—or Electronic Drone Mitigation 4 System—is a portable electronic-warfare weapon from Lithuania. Point the EDM4S at a hovering uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) and pull the trigger: The drone should lose contact with its operator and fall inertly from the sky.
Hundreds of EDM4S systems have been donated to Ukraine over the past two years. They are just one weapon in an unseen, and under-appreciated, battle for control of the electromagnetic spectrum. Powering this battle is a furious arms race. Ukraine and its allies on one side, Russia on the other. Both sides are trying to innovate better ways to spoof, jam, and disrupt enemy communications, particularly drones, while simultaneously working to harden their own systems against hostile signals.
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