Since final November the regime of Vladimir Zelensky (lead picture, left) in Kiev has been promoting the merchandise of an organization known as Piranha-Tech for newly developed digital warfare (EW) applied sciences which the Israeli authorities of Benjamin Netanyahu (proper) is now supplying the Ukraine for operations in opposition to Russia.
In response to a Russian army blogger report revealed on Could 4, Israeli firms specializing in digital jamming and drone applied sciences are behind a Ukrainian authorities, US, and UK-funded drone manufacturing line and deployment of the weapons on the Ukrainian battlefield. Piranha-Tech, based on this supply, is 49% owned by Israeli shareholders, who developed the expertise, and 51% owned by Ukrainians who’re managing the battlefield provides. Piranha-Tech anti-drone weapons and jammers are primarily based on Israeli army applied sciences, the report claims.
The primary official disclosure got here from Kiev on November 2, 2023. In response to a tweet revealed by Mikhail Fedorov, a cyber expertise specialist with authorities rank in Kiev, “environment friendly safety from Russian UAVs for armored automobiles & personnel. Fairly distinctive digital warfare system — Piranha AVD 360. It creates protecting dome as much as 600 meters round & jams satellite tv for pc navigation methods, similar to RuGLONASS. New tech supported by @BRAVE1ua”.
BRAVE1 stands for “Ukrainian Protection Improvements”, a Ukrainian authorities coordinating company for “stakeholders of the protection tech business by offering them with organizational, informational, and monetary help for protection tech tasks.”
Supply: https://twitter.com/fedorovmykhailo?lang=en
Supply: https://twitter.com/FedorovMykhailo/
A US and Ukraine-based defence expertise weblog picked up the story instantly. The report known as the Piranha-Tech system “a cutting-edge digital warfare system designed to safeguard armored automobiles from Russian drones, has efficiently accomplished subject trials and is now poised for mass manufacturing.” It added: “the Piranha system disrupts satellite tv for pc navigation methods, together with Russia’s GLONASS.” In response to the American outlet, Piranha Tech was an “achievement in Ukrainian protection expertise.” There was no point out of the Israeli army base for the Ukrainian operation.
Left, supply: https://defence-blog.com/
Proper: Dylan Malyasov carrying US and Ukrainian loyalty patches and claiming to be press. Malyasov, the writer of the promotional piece, says that “as a journalist and volunteer, he was awarded the “For Help to the Armed Forces of Ukraine” medal. The order of award was signed by the Minister of Protection of Ukraine, Oleksiy Reznikov, on January 19, 2023.”
The Israeli hyperlinks behind Piranha Tech have been first revealed in Paris on Could 3, 2024.
Supply: https://www.intelligenceonline.com/
The Paris-based web site known as Intelligence On-line reported that the Ukrainian Piranha-Tech expertise is in truth Israeli. “Behind the Ukrainian firm supplying anti-drone gear to the Ukrainian armed forces and the federal government of Myanmar is a community of Israeli digital warfare firms.” Intelligence On-line is a product of Indigo, a media group owned by Maurice Botbol, who’s of Moroccan Jewish extraction. Within the aggressive London company investigations market, Botbol’s Intelligence On-line has a controversial popularity. Previously, it was beneficial to the press operations of a Russian metals oligarch now below US sanctions.
In Moscow, The Militarist, a broadly learn army information and evaluation weblog, adopted with an intensive report of the Israeli operation of Piranha-Tech on Could 4. The Russian report says: “Whereas Ukraine continues to develop its EW [electronic warfare] applied sciences as a lot as potential, incubators working on this subject, similar to Brave1 appeal to international specialists. Brave1 gives substantial help and subsidies to Piranha Tech, specifically, for its UAV [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] Piranha AVD 360 anti-UAV system, which is utilized by the APU [Armed Forces of Ukraine]. The Ukrainian firm, whose Ukrainian anti-UAV methods are praised on social media by the talkative Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, appears to have shut ties with Israel.”
Supply: https://t.me/s/infantmilitario posted on Could 4 at 20:25.
“Piranha Tech is registered in Ukraine in 2019. Its founders are residents of Israel Dangerous Vyacheslav (10%) and Oren Flax (39 %), in addition to two Ukrainians Yury Pavlovich Momot (15%) and Alexander Ruzhinsky (36%). Flax and Vyacheslav are additionally the founders and shareholders of the Ukrainian subsidiary of Kavit Electronics, registered in 2018. Kavit is managed by the Flax household. Its headquarters is in Rishon LeZion in Israel, and its government director is Yitzhak [Isaac] Flax. One other proof of Piranha Tech’s shut ties to Israel is that the cellphone quantity by default on the contact web page on the web site has an Israeli prefix.”
“Thus, Piranha Tech may be thought of a canopy and provider of Israeli gear delivering to the UK Logix Safety Worldwide, which provides the army authorities of Myanmar, in addition to Ukraine and Poland. It provides gear to cyber-intelligence firms such because the Israeli Rayzone Group within the Philippines and SatusGlobal in Abu Dhabi, in addition to to authorities clients such because the UAE Armed Forces and the Ivoirian Ministry of Protection.”
“It receives digital parts from LCSC Electronics in Hong Kong and Shenzhen E-Fireplace Expertise in China, in addition to from U.S. firms similar to Mouser Electronics and DigiKey. In response to the Ukrainian information web site, Piranha Tech can also be collaborating with Israeli firm Airfence Options, identified at present as ApolloShield, an organization listed in Tel Aviv and specializing in drone management methods.”
“The corporate was based in 1994 and makes a speciality of interception and suppression of telecommunications. It sells IMSI interceptors, mufflers and encrypted communications. The corporate has been a accomplice of Motorola since 1998 and provides its gear, specifically to Ecuador, the place its distributor is the engineer Eduardo Francisco Torres Asu, and to Mexico, the place its native distributor is VX Comunicaciones.”
The milblogger doesn’t point out Intelligence On-line and cites no different sources for his report. Monitoring on the web of the Israeli drone warfare firms, similar to Kavit Electronics and Airfence Options, which lists a Palo Alto, California, deal with right here, is proscribed by their secrecy.
Partial affirmation of the Paris and Moscow reviews’ reference to Yury Momot, one of many Piranha supervisor shareholders, has been present in a Christian Science Monitor publication in Boston from a “particular correspondent” in Kiev on December 23, 2023: “ ‘Three or 4 years in the past, no person would have thought that drones would play such an enormous function in day by day warfare,’ observes Yuri Momot, deputy common of Piranha-Tech, an organization growing jamming methods to take down Russian drones. ‘The warfare itself is an enormous set off for progress.’”
The Monitor, which backs the warfare in opposition to Russia, headlines its story, “Conflict on a funds: Ukraine turns into hotbed for drone tech”, however the newspaper reviews no estimate of the sum of money being spent on drone expertise, testing of prototypes, manufacturing strains, and battlefield deployment. The newspaper implies that it’s a multi-national, multi-milliondollar enterprise. Fedorov was reported by the Guardian in London as saying the UK is spending “£325m to assist purchase a minimum of 10,000 drones for Ukraine’s army.”
Pentagon spending for US-made drones and anti-drone methods has been reported right here. “The Pentagon introduced Friday morning,” reported Protection Information on February 23, 2024, “ it will ship extra drones to Ukraine as a part of a brand new $2 billion package deal to assist in the nation’s struggle in opposition to Russia on the primary anniversary of the invasion. The brand new $2 billion in help consists of extra ammunition for Excessive Mobility Artillery Rocket Programs, extra ammunition for 155mm artillery and extra munitions for unspecified laser-guided rocket methods. It additionally consists of unspecified counter-drone and digital warfare detection gear.”
In response to the Monitor, “Ukraine has grow to be an enormous testing floor for drones from all around the world – america, Germany, Poland, and different accomplice nations. Numerous new firms are taking form across the expertise; groups of engineers are tinkering on prototypes, making an attempt to clear the Ministry of Protection and NATO checklists of technical necessities, hoping to nail a army contract…Oleksandr Yakovenko, CEO of TAF Drones [said] the corporate already has 4 factories unfold out throughout Ukraine – regardless of struggling a sabotage assault that destroyed gear value $300,000 in July. The majority of its provides (90%) come from China or Taiwan. The rest comes from suppliers in Europe and the U.S. ‘We have now to create merchandise which can be cheaper than the targets,’ he says. ‘In any other case, we won’t win as a result of our enemy has extra assets than our nation.’ ”
UK authorities information for a parallel-named Piranha Tech firm, working within the Liverpool space on “laptop associated actions” and “data expertise consultancy actions”, point out the likelihood that the Israelis and their Ukrainian companions have been contemplating a British firm entrance throughout their start-up.
The British Piranha Tech firm first opened for enterprise in Cardiff, Wales, and registered the corporate identify, Piranha Tech Restricted, at UK Firms Home on September 20, 2007. Its registration quantity was 06377583. The corporate’s deal with on file is 10 Walpole Avenue, Whiston, Prescot, Merseyside. This was the house of Colin Jones, who’s listed as the corporate’s director with the occupation of “guide.”
The corporate’s enterprise was reported formally as “different laptop associated actions”. Along with Jones, Lisa Gregory was registered as the corporate secretary at one other private deal with close by. That is as modest in actual property worth because the Jones deal with.
No submitting of financials and buying and selling actions adopted, and on October 10, 2009, the corporate was gazetted for obligatory strike-off. Piranha Tech was dissolved formally on February 2, 2010.
Jones then re-registered the corporate as Piranha Tech Ltd in Could 2016 – nearly an identical identify, new firm quantity 10195607. He listed the corporate’s enterprise and himself on the similar house deal with on Walpole Avenue. Jones was the one worker. In 2017 the monetary report indicated revenue of £15,968. In 2022 the money within the financial institution had grown to £32,011. In February 2023 Jones filed for voluntary strike-off of the corporate, and in Could of that yr, Piranha Tech ceased to exist for the second time.
To test what relationship, if any, Jones and Gregory might have had with the Israelis and Ukrainians in drone warfare, it has been inconceivable to hint and make contact with them thus far.
There isn’t a signal within the UK Firm Home information of the Israeli enterprise whose web site advertises enterprise addresses at Krivoy Rog, near the entrance line; in Rzeszow, Poland, near the western Ukrainian border, and in Slovenia. Piranha-Tech’s emblem flies the Ukrainian flag and the same old warfare slogan. In response to Alex Ruzhinsky, calling himself the “Piranha Tech CEO”: “We began working in 2014. Since then, we now have realized to work with small and enormous orders. We constantly monitor the standard of our merchandise. Our merchandise are utilized in 25 nations around the globe.”
