Ukraine seeks new methods of resistance to Russian missiles and drones. One of the solutions is the Lima electronic warfare system, developed by the Ukrainian defense startup Cascade Systems in collaboration with the Kyiv-based Night Watch team, Politico reports.
The total for a metropolis runs to about €5 million, which is roughly the unit cost of a single American Patriot PAC-3 interceptor missile.
Lima has jammed more than 20,500 Russian Shahed drones and redirected dozens of cruise and ballistic missiles over the past 18 months.
How does it work?
When Russian weapons enter Lima's coverage zone, their guidance systems receive false satellite coordinates, including, during some attacks, signals that convinced the missiles they were in Peru, the developers said.
According to a developer using the callsign Alchemist, the spoofing approach allows Ukrainian operators to divert incoming Russian missiles into open fields rather than residential areas or critical infrastructure.
The system can also generate a "dead zone" in which Russian drones simply lose their guidance signal entirely.
400 Lima's are working in country
Cascade Systems has delivered more than 400 Lima units, with deployment beginning in July 2024, and civilian-infrastructure protection added since October 2025.
The cost asymmetry shapes Ukraine's air-defense planning amid sustained Patriot PAC-3 shortages: a single PAC-3 round costs between $3 million and $5 million, and Ukraine's inventory of the missile is limited.
The Lima approach scales horizontally with software and emitter networks rather than scarce hardware interceptors, and integrates with Ukraine's broader layered air defense.
What is Lima Quant?
In early 2025, Russian forces began installing upgraded "Kometa" controlled reception pattern antennas on their drones and missiles, temporarily reducing the effectiveness of earlier Lima versions.
Ukrainian engineers responded after several months of laboratory research with Lima Quant, combining standard spoofing with high-frequency signals designed to disorient the new Russian antennas.
Maksym Skoretskyy, head of the electronic warfare management of Ukraine's Ground Forces, said the latest Lima modifications can suppress long-range weapons, including ballistic missiles, using Russian GLONASS satellite navigation.
Skoretskyy noted the limit honestly: jammed Russian drones and missiles still fall somewhere and cause damage, but the question is whether they hit their intended targets, and the documented hit rates suggest they do not.
