Hajra Naz
Ukrainian drone teams have acquired a new tool to spy on the unmanned aircraft tracking them. A Kyiv-based hardware startup named CODE380 has been gaining widespread attention for its pocket-sized receiver. The device, called the D·Vision SDR, intercepts live video streams from many Russian drones and displays the footage directly on a screen.
Those Russian reconnaissance drones transmit their video broadcasts without encryption. Because of this, anyone equipped with the right frequency receiver can watch the feed live. A Ukrainian military unit can see where a drone is flying. They can also identify what the enemy pilot is aiming at long before an attack occurs.
According to a Defense News report, the device weighs about 10 ounces (280 grams). That is less than half the weight of competing Ukrainian models. Some alternative receivers weigh a couple of pounds.
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The unit also monitors radio channels that Russia’s newer Molniya drones began using for video transmission in June. Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a radio specialist who advises Ukraine’s president, commented on the trend in a June Facebook post cited by Defense News. He noted that “most detectors don’t see these frequencies or see them poorly.” He warned that placing complete trust in a detector could prove fatal for soldiers on the ground.
Beskrestnov also warned that digital video could eventually replace analog transmissions. Such a shift would blind receivers like the D·Vision SDR. The New York Times reported in August that some Russian Molniya drones are AI-guided. Those models use Nvidia chips and emit no radio signals.
Ukraine intercepts Russian drone live feeds with a tiny new gadget. This video provides a quick visual report on CODE380’s pocket-sized D·Vision SDR receiver and explains how Ukrainian troops intercept unencrypted video feeds from Russian drones in real time.
