A Kyiv equipment startup called CODE380 has been gaining attention for a pocket-sized receiver that picks up live camera video from many Russian drones and shows it on a screen, giving Ukrainian drone teams a view of what an incoming drone is seeing. The device, the D·Vision SDR, works because those drones send their video over the air without any scrambling, so anyone with the right receiver can watch along.
With the receiver, a Ukrainian unit can see where a drone is heading and what its pilot is aiming at before it hits.
According to Defense News, the device is light, at about 10 ounces, which is less than half the weight of competing Ukrainian models, one of which weighs a couple of pounds. It also listens on the radio channels Russia's newer Molniya drones started using for video in June.
Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov, a radio specialist who advises Ukraine's president, said in a June Facebook post cited by Defense News that "most detectors don't see these frequencies, or see them poorly." He warned that putting too much trust in a detector could prove fatal. Beskrestnov has also warned that digital video could one day replace analog, which would blind receivers like this one.
The New York Times reported in August that some Molniyas are AI-guided, using Nvidia chips and emitting no signals.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- The receiver exploits an unencrypted link: Russian drone video travels over the air unscrambled, so a unit that can listen in gains warning of an attack before impact.
- Weight and frequency coverage are the selling points reported: at about 10 ounces it is less than half the weight of competing Ukrainian models cited by Defense News, and it covers channels Molniya drones began using for video in June.
- The advantage depends on Russian practice staying the same. Both of the caveats the sources carry, a shift to digital video and AI-guided drones that emit no signals, would undercut receivers of this kind.
Background
Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 turned small drones and longer-range attack drones into a central part of the fighting, with both sides racing to jam, spoof and intercept them. Radio specialists advising Ukraine's leadership have become public voices on what Ukrainian units can and cannot detect, and the Molniya family is among the Russian designs that have appeared in that reporting.
What to Watch
- Whether Russia moves Molniya video from analog to digital transmission, which Beskrestnov warns would blind receivers like the D·Vision SDR.
- Whether AI-guided Molniyas of the kind the New York Times reported on in August spread, since they emit no signals for a receiver to pick up.
- How widely Ukrainian units take up the device relative to the heavier competing models cited by Defense News.
Checked
11 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 11 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedCODE380’s pocket receiver lets Ukrainian drone teams watch video from Russian drones.TechCrunch: “A Kyiv equipment startup called CODE380 has been gaining attention for a pocket-sized receiver, the D·Vision SDR, that picks up live camera video from many Russian drones and shows it on a screen.”
- SupportedCODE380 has been gaining attention for the D·Vision SDR.TechCrunch: “A Kyiv equipment startup called CODE380 has been gaining attention for a pocket-sized receiver, the D·Vision SDR”
- SupportedThe D·Vision SDR picks up unscrambled drone video feeds.TechCrunch: “Those drones send their video over the air without any scrambling, so anyone with the right receiver can watch along.”
- SupportedA Ukrainian unit can see where a drone is heading and what its pilot is aiming at before it hits.TechCrunch: “A Ukrainian unit can see where a drone is heading and what its pilot is aiming at before it hits.”
- SupportedThe receiver weighs about 10 ounces, less than half the weight of competing Ukrainian models, one of which weighs a couple of pounds.TechCrunch: “According to Defense News , the device is light, at about 10 ounces, which is less than half the weight of competing Ukrainian models, one of which weighs a couple of pounds.”
- SupportedThe receiver listens on radio channels Russia’s newer Molniya drones started using for video in June.TechCrunch: “It also listens on the radio channels Russia’s newer Molniya drones started using for video in June.”
- SupportedBeskrestnov said in a June Facebook post, cited by Defense News, that “most detectors don't see these frequencies, or see them poorly.”TechCrunch: “Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a radio specialist who advises Ukraine’s president, said in a June Facebook post cited by Defense News that “most detectors don’t see these frequencies, or see them poorly.””
- SupportedThe quoted warning was made by Serhii Beskrestnov, a radio specialist who advises Ukraine’s president.TechCrunch: “Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, a radio specialist who advises Ukraine’s president, said in a June Facebook post cited by Defense News”
- SupportedBeskrestnov warned that putting too much trust in a detector could prove fatal.TechCrunch: “He warned that putting too much trust in a detector could prove fatal.”
- SupportedBeskrestnov warned that digital video could one day replace analog and blind receivers like this one.TechCrunch: “Beskrestnov has also warned that digital video could one day replace analog, which would blind receivers like this one.”
- SupportedThe New York Times reported in August that some Molniyas are AI-guided, use Nvidia chips and emit no signals.TechCrunch: “The New York Times reported in August that some Molniyas are AI-guided, using Nvidia chips and emitting no signals.”