Ukrainian EW Specialists Claim They Jammed Kinzhal Missiles With a Patriotic Song

Ukrainian electronic-warfare specialists claim they have discovered an unconventional method to interfere with Russia’s Kinzhal aeroballistic missiles — by embedding a Ukrainian patriotic song into a spoofed navigation signal transmitted toward the incoming weapon.

Members of the Night Watch EW group say they used Lima-type electronic warfare systems to disrupt the guidance of around ten Kinzhal missiles in the last two weeks, replacing the missile’s satellite-correction channel with a signal encoded with the well-known patriotic track “Batko Nash Bandera.”

Song as a Weapon

The Kinzhal, one of Russia’s most advanced hypersonic weapons, relies on a combination of inertial navigation and satellite-based course correction. Ukrainian specialists found that by overpowering the missile’s satellite receiver with a stronger, fabricated data stream, the missile can be forced off-course.

The Lima EW system allows operators to insert a digital waveform containing the patriotic song. Though the missile does not “hear” the song, the musical data becomes a structured signal that the missile wrongly interprets as navigation information.

Night Watch operators say the song was chosen partly for symbolism — but technically, any continuous modulated signal could serve the same purpose. The patriotic track simply “adds character to the operation,” one operator joked.

How the Interference Works

Ukrainian sources describe a three-stage electronic attack:

Digital Choke

The Lima system first saturates the missile’s navigation channel with electronic noise, lowering the accuracy of its satellite updates.

Spoofed Signal Injection

Next, a fake navigation signal — stronger than the real satellite feed — is transmitted toward the missile. This spoofed stream carries the digital signature of the “Batko Nash Bandera” song.
The missile’s receiver locks onto this stronger signal, mistaking the musical waveform for valid positioning data.

Navigation System Breakdown

Finally, the corrupted data causes repeated computational errors inside the missile’s guidance computer. In several cases, this has led to course deviations, forcing the missile to miss its intended target area.

Cyber elements are also involved: the Lima system exploits weaknesses in the missile’s filtering algorithms, which are not designed to handle structured false signals disguised as navigation data.

Technical Meaning and Implications

Military experts say the breakthrough has significant implications for modern warfare. The Kinzhal is one of Russia’s most high-profile strategic weapons, often presented as “impossible to intercept.”
But Ukraine’s success demonstrates that even advanced missiles remain vulnerable to electronic manipulation.

Key Technical Takeaways

• Spoofing works because the missile’s receiver prioritizes stronger signals, even if they are fake.

• The digital waveform of a song can destabilize the missile’s synchronization cycles.

• When the navigation processor fails to interpret the corrupted data, the missile’s accuracy collapses.

Analysts note that disrupting a hypersonic missile mid-flight using EW — not a traditional interceptor — represents a major shift in how modern air defense can be conducted.

Growing Role of Electronic Warfare

The Night Watch unit has been experimenting with Lima systems for months. Their success against the Kinzhal indicates that Ukraine is rapidly expanding its ability to hack, spoof, and destabilize Russian precision-guided munitions.

Ukrainian officials say the method will now be tested against other missile types, including cruise missiles that rely heavily on satellite correction.

Russia has not publicly commented on the reported disruptions.