TechFiber-optic drones reshape Ukraine's battlefield once more

Fiber-optic drones reshape Ukraine's battlefield once more

Drones have become one of the pivotal methods of warfare in Ukraine, second only to artillery. Even concealing heavy equipment within building ruins no longer guarantees its safety. A small gap is sufficient to risk losing equipment worth millions.

A Ukrainian FPV drone via fiber optic just before destroying the target.
A Ukrainian FPV drone via fiber optic just before destroying the target.
Images source: © x (formerly twitter) | MilitaryNewsUA
Przemysław Juraszek

The advent and proliferation of fiber-optic drones a few months ago altered the battlefield dynamics, as jammers have become ineffective against them. It's important to note, however, that fiber-optic drones remain a minority.

As a result, they are more frequently used to target high-value objectives, particularly behind enemy lines where jammers are common. In the video below, you can observe drones entering hangars where the Russians have concealed self-propelled howitzers. The first appears to be a 2S1 Gvozdika, and the second a 2S19 Msta-S. Both were destroyed.

Fiber-optic drones — returning to the state of late 2022/early 2023

Drones connected to a control station via fiber optic have led to a resurgence of drone usage reminiscent of late 2022/early 2023, when they were effectively neutralizing armoured equipment with impunity, while defenses against them were still under development.

Over time, jammers were developed, which either succeeded or failed based on the coverage of frequencies used by enemy drone operators. This resulted in periods of complete autonomy for drone operators, alternated with phases of ineffectiveness.

Fiber-optic drones have mitigated this fluctuating effectiveness, as they cannot be jammed and, moreover, they are passive and do not emit any radio signals. These can be detected by detectors that even permit viewing from the drone's camera.

The trade-off of using a fiber-optic connection is the need to carry a spool with deploying fiber optics, which limits both the range and payload of the drone. The range of these drones can vary from 10 to 20 kilometres or even 40 kilometres, as mentioned in one report by "Madziar". However, as the range increases, the payload capacity for the warhead decreases.