TechUkraine's Delta system: The €14bn game-changer in Russian conflict

Ukraine's Delta system: The €14bn game-changer in Russian conflict

ZZKO Topaz - illustrative photo
ZZKO Topaz - illustrative photo
Images source: © grupa wb
Łukasz Michalik

2 September 2024 20:09

One of Ukraine's assets in the war against Russia is the Delta system, which is responsible for real-time battlefield imaging. The Ukrainian solution has been integrated with, among other things, the Polish Topaz fire control system. The losses inflicted on the Russians due to Delta are estimated at €14 billion.

Delta is a system developed in Ukraine for situational awareness and battlefield management. It processes data obtained from various sources (including those provided by Western countries) and displays it in real-time.

This allows Ukrainian commanders to monitor the battlefield situation live. Delta is available on ordinary computers, tablets, and smartphones. The system is a key link in the Ukrainian "kill chain" (the process from target detection to destruction).

According to former Ukrainian Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov, Delta is the equivalent of "Google Maps for the army." Delta allows data processing obtained from, among other things, drones and satellites, target identification revealed, for example, in photos or videos, prioritisation, and attack coordination.

Integration of Delta with Topaz

In this regard, Delta has been integrated with, among others, the Polish Automated Fire Control Set Topaz, which equips Krab self-propelled howitzers and Rak self-propelled mortars provided to Ukraine.

The Delta system was developed through cooperation with NATO and meets NATO standards for information exchange. Work on it began in 2017, and the first combat use took place in March 2022, when Delta was used to destroy a large Russian convoy that got stuck due to logistical reasons during the attack on Kyiv.

Russian attacks on the Delta system

According to the Ukrainian Minister of Defence, Rustem Umerov, Delta is responsible for inflicting great losses on the Russians and destroying equipment worth €14 billion. The system receives monthly information about 600,000 locations, objects, or targets.

The Russians know the Delta system's importance, too—since the end of 2022, cybercriminals have attacked its users. According to CyberDefence24, one attack was carried out using a compromised email account of a Ukrainian Ministry of Defence employee, attempting to infect recipients' equipment with data-stealing malware.

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