‘Autopsy’ of Captured Russian Anti-Drone Gun Undermines ‘State of the Art’ Claims

The military issues website Defense Blog reported on the technical analysis of the captured Russian-made anti-drone rifle, the PARS-S “Stepashka,” by the Ukrainian electronic technology specialist Serhii Beskrestnov, best known under the pseudonym “Serhii Flash.”

While from the outside the PARS-S looks the business, once Beskrestnov took it apart the equipment seemed somewhat less of a state-of-the art technology  than its Russian manufacturers claimed.

Beskrestnov published detailed photographs of the rifle’s internal components on his Telegram channel on Nov. 18, which he termed as “unconventional.” While he said it was not surprising to find several foreign-made components within the system, as with much of Russia’s weapon systems, one aspect did surprise him.

Key internal components, including antenna blocks and batteries, were held in place by common or garden PU construction foam, the same as that used in home insulation which seemed to have been applied haphazardly and in copious quantities.

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The PARS-S Stepashka anti-drone rifle, designed and built by the Russian company Lokatsionnaya masterskaya (Lokmas) was first unveiled at the Specialized Gear Show at the VDNKh All-Russian Exhibition Center in April 2023. The manufacturer claimed it was capable of disrupting all types of commercially produced quadcopter and first-person view (FPV) attack drones.

The PARS-S Stepashka weighs 9.6 kilograms (21 pounds) and is said to have an operational range of 1.5 kilometers (one mile) with a standard output of 50 watts.

A company representative speaking at the VDNKh show said that the anti-drone rifle was a symbol of Russia’s 21st century levels of innovation and technological prowess: “The Stepashka can jam all types of user drones on the market. We can also make it operate against FPV drones… It was engineered with surplus capacity inside and can be configured to defeat several different types of device.”

“We can place one, two, three or five antennae into it. We can install a different generator. That is, we can alter the device’s characteristics without changing its external design.”

However, the discovery yet again of a reliance on foreign components, combined with the “Heath Robinson” nature of its internal fixings casts doubt on Lokmas’ claims of it being a leading-edge innovator and manufacturer.