---
title: "\"What works today may not work in two weeks\": how BlueBird Tech is building Ukraine's defense industry of the future — from the \"Chuyka\" detector to guided bombs on drones"
description: "BlueBird Tech CEO Valery Zarubin told RBC-Ukraine in an interview about how the \"Chuyka\" detector works, the limitations of EW against fiber-optic drones, and plans to create KABs that will be launched by Ukrainian-made drones."
date: 2026-09-11T06:02:02.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/bluebird-tech-chuyka-ew-kabs-drones-ukraine
tags: [bluebird-tech, drone-detection, electronic-warfare, ukraine-defense, chuyka-detector, kab-guided-bombs, fiber-optic-drones, valery-zarubin]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# "What works today may not work in two weeks": how BlueBird Tech is building Ukraine's defense industry of the future — from the "Chuyka" detector to guided bombs on drones

![BlueBird Tech representative against a collage of Ukrainian defense products: a drone with a KAB, the GREL 6M EW system, and the Chuyka radio detector](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/11/bluebird-tech-chuyka-reb-kaby-drony-ukraina/bluebird-tech-chuyka-reb-kaby-drony-ukraina-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- The "Chuyka" detector intercepts only analog video signals and does not work against digital or fiber-optic drones
- "Shaheds" traditionally do not use analog video, so "Chuyka" does not detect them in standard configuration
- EW strategy is shifting from wideband jamming to pinpoint suppression of a detected frequency due to energy intensity
- BlueBird Tech is developing KABs for launch from drones and missiles for air defense
- The EW equipment market in Ukraine is estimated at $120–1,200 million per year

Ukraine's defense industry is undergoing a radical transformation in which private companies have become key suppliers of solutions for the front line. One such player is BlueBird Tech — a company that, over just a few years, has grown from a startup waiting three to four months for its first spare parts into a serial manufacturer of electronic warfare (EW) systems, drone detectors, and developer of new classes of weapons. In an exclusive interview with RBC-Ukraine, the company's CEO Valery Zarubin explained how the portable detector "Chuyka" works, why it cannot detect "Shaheds" in their classic configuration, what makes net-launchers unique, and why in the coming years guided aerial bombs (KABs) will be launched not by aircraft but by Ukrainian-made drones.

### From EW to detectors: how the company found its niche

BlueBird Tech launched during a period of active transformation of the Ukrainian army. Zarubin acknowledges that the company owes much of its start to Maria Berlinska, who at the time was an ambassador of drone piloting. The first spare parts for research took three to four months to arrive, after which a number of companies, including BlueBird Tech, received state orders for drone production. However, even at an early stage a critical problem emerged: there was no protection against enemy drones. The military directly requested such solutions, and the company dove into EW development. "Our first year we worked with EW systems and produced them serially. At the time they were highly valued at the front, we were very timely," Zarubin recalls. It was then that it became clear that BlueBird Tech was not just a "drone company" but a producer of relevant solutions for the front: whether protection or weapons.

### "Chuyka": how the detector intercepts analog video from enemy drones

The company's key product in the detection segment is the portable drone detector "Chuyka." According to Zarubin, it is an analog video detector: the device intercepts the analog video signal and displays the picture from the enemy drone on a built-in screen. The fundamental limitation is that against digital video and, all the more so, fiber-optic drones, radio means are in principle powerless — such UAVs do not emit a radio signal that could be intercepted. "But all UAVs using analog video — against those it is effective," the CEO emphasizes. This means that "Chuyka" operates in the segment where the adversary still employs outdated or simplified video transmission channels, which is characteristic of a significant share of tactical drones used in the front-line zone.

### Does "Chuyka" see "Shaheds," and who else benefits from the detector

Asked directly whether the detector can detect "Shaheds," Zarubin answers with a caveat: "Traditionally they do not use analog video. In the case where they do use analog video, then such a drone detector would see them." At the same time, he notes that there are periodic cases where "Chuyka" allegedly picks up a signal from objects that operators call "Shaheds." In reality, he says, many different types of drones fly into the rear, and the most varied modifications are mistakenly identified as "Shaheds." On certain types of large drones, analog video was indeed present and was often observed. However, this was not about the deep rear but rather the front-line zone: Kharkiv, the Sumy region, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro. Zarubin stresses: for the adversary there is no difference between civilian and military targets, so everyone is under threat. That is precisely why "Chuyka" has long been used not only by the military but also by civilians, volunteers, the State Emergency Service, and the police as an early-detection means to have time to take cover.

### EW amid expanding frequencies: a long game

The question of protection against all the frequencies on which enemy drones fly, Zarubin says, is a path already walked in 2024. Frequency ranges are continuously expanding, and protecting the entire spectrum simultaneously is technically extremely complex and energy-intensive. "We are moving from primitive means to ones that will simply detect the frequency and jam the signal precisely on the given frequency. Because a lot of energy is needed to jam communication over a wide range. Indeed, such devices will be quite large," he explains. The strategy is built on first determining the adversary's working frequency and then jamming precisely that one. However, the adversary switches from frequency to frequency, turning the confrontation into a "long game." "What works today may not work in two weeks. But even when we win some battle in time — a week, two, a month, half a year, a year — we either save a huge number of lives or we manage to achieve certain results at the front," Zarubin summarizes. This means constant updating of devices and a continuous development cycle.

### Fiber optics, acoustic and optical detection: methods against "invisible" drones

Against drones on fiber-optic links, which radio means cannot detect, the company applies alternative methods. Acoustic detection allows one to hear the drone, determine the direction of the sound, and triangulate its position — this method works against any UAV, not only "optical" ones. Optical detection using cameras complements acoustic detection, allowing the target to be visually fixed. According to the company, the EW equipment market in Ukraine is estimated at between 120 and 1,200 million dollars per year, reflecting the scale and dynamics of demand for these solutions. BlueBird Tech, which is in particular the developer of the "Bebradron" drone, continues to expand its lineup: from portable detectors and EW stations to more complex systems.

### KABs on drones: how the battlefield will change in the coming years

The most ambitious direction of BlueBird Tech, as reported by Zarubin, is the development of guided aerial bombs (KABs) that, in the future, will be launched not from manned aviation but directly from Ukrainian-made drones. This fundamentally changes the economics of a strike: instead of an expensive aircraft and complex logistics, the bomb is delivered by a relatively cheap UAV that, after release, can be lost without critical consequences. In parallel, the company is working on missiles for air defense. Thus, BlueBird Tech positions itself not as a narrow supplier of a single type of equipment but as a full-cycle integrator: from detection and jamming to delivering the strike. In conditions where frequency ranges, tactics, and drone types change weekly, it is precisely this flexibility and speed of iteration that become the competitive advantage of Ukraine's defense industry over an adversary whose industrial base is limited by imported components.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Ukrainian KABs will be launched by drones: interview with BlueBird Tech CEO](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/ukrayinski-kabi-zapuskatimut-droni-interv-1789037930.html) - Первичный источник интервью. Все цитаты и тезисы Зарубина взяты из данного материала.
- [Ukrainian company BlueBird Tech begins development of air defense missiles: what is known](https://delo.ua/ru/news/ukrainskaya-kompaniya-bluebird-tech-nacinaet-razrabotku-raket-dlya-pvo-cto-izvestno-464517/) - Подтверждает направление разработки ракет ПВО компанией BlueBird Tech.
- [The EW equipment market in Ukraine — $120–1,200 million per year](https://delo.ua/ru/business/kitaicy-poka-prodayut-v-ukraine-komplektuyushhie-dlya-reb-no-situaciya-uxudsaetsya-valerii-zarubin-bogdan-stankevic-bluebird-440776/) - Подтверждает направление разработки ракет ПВО компанией BlueBird Tech.
- [Developer of the "Bebradron" begins creating a Ukrainian KAB, – media](https://www.unian.net/weapons/voyna-v-ukraine-kompaniya-bluebird-tech-namerena-sozdat-sobstvennyy-kab-13401108.html) - Подтверждает связь BlueBird Tech с дроном «Бебрадрон» и началом разработки КАБ.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What is "Chuyka" and how does it work?
**A:** "Chuyka" is a portable drone detector made by BlueBird Tech. It intercepts the analog video signal of enemy drones and displays the picture on a built-in screen. It does not work against digital video or fiber-optic UAVs, since those do not emit a radio signal.

### Q: Does "Chuyka" see "Shaheds"?
**A:** Traditionally "Shaheds" do not use analog video, so in standard configuration the detector does not detect them. However, Zarubin notes that on some large drones mistakenly called "Shaheds," analog video was detected in the front-line zone.

### Q: Why can't EW jam all frequencies simultaneously?
**A:** Jamming a wide frequency range requires an enormous amount of energy and leads to bulky devices. Therefore the strategy shifts to pinpoint suppression: first the adversary's working frequency is detected, then precisely that one is jammed. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the adversary constantly switches between frequencies.

### Q: What is BlueBird Tech developing for the future?
**A:** The company is developing guided aerial bombs (KABs) for launch from Ukrainian-made drones, as well as missiles for air defense. In parallel, it continues to update its lineup of EW stations and detectors.

### Q: How large is the EW equipment market in Ukraine?
**A:** According to delo.ua, the EW equipment market in Ukraine is estimated at between 120 and 1,200 million dollars per year, reflecting high and growing demand for these solutions from military and civilian structures.