They are unaffected by electronic warfare. Here's how Ukraine is ramping up drone production using fiber optics.

At the beginning of January, the Armed Forces commenced offensive operations in the Kursk direction. Enemy Telegram channels noted the effective work of Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) systems, which reportedly managed to "neutralize" all Russian drones, except for the fiber-optic drones.

<Russian fiber-optic drones fundamentally differ from standard FPV drones. They are controlled via a very long cable that unwinds several kilometers during flight. These drones do not use radio communication, making them immune to even the best EW systems.

The term "wired combat drones" sounded absurd just two years ago, but today they pose significant challenges for Ukrainian forces. This is a case where the Russians have outpaced us in both development and scaling.

Recently, Ukraine "woke up" and sent a clear signal to domestic manufacturers that fiber-optic drones are urgently needed by our military on the front lines, and that the state is ready to purchase them in large quantities.

Fiber-optic products have the potential to occupy a significant niche in the drone warfare this year. Dozens of teams of Ukrainian engineers are already offering their models of these drones and their components, aiming to fill the market vacuum within a few months.

Fiber-Optics or Machine Vision?

The weak point of a drone is its communication. This is done on radio frequencies. EW operators detect these frequencies and jam them with powerful signals. If EW successfully jams the correct frequency, the drone loses connection and crashes hundreds of meters away from its target.

<Currently, there is no clear winner in the confrontation between EW and FPV. Drone operators are installing repeaters and signal amplifiers to maintain image transmission as they approach their targets, while dynamically changing working frequencies and finding uncovered spots in the enemy's defenses.

Meanwhile, EW operators are increasingly jamming frequencies, strategically placing their antennas on the battlefield, detecting enemy frequencies through electronic intelligence, and finding ways to ensure uninterrupted power supply for their equipment.

<Today, even an experienced UAV operator sees only a small fraction of the released FPV drones reaching their targets. Russian and Ukrainian engineers continue to hope for a "magic bullet" that will render FPV drones completely invulnerable to EW systems and leave the enemy defenseless against drones.

Technically, this is feasible. There are two key approaches: equipping the drone with machine vision or controlling it via fiber optics. Each option has its pros and cons.

<In the first case, the drone autonomously targets its objective, eliminating the need for communication with the operator in the final meters. In the second case, the operator guides the drone to the target from start to finish, but communication operates over a cable, making it invulnerable to any electronic warfare measures.

<Machine vision is a technologically complex solution that requires high-quality assembly of components, a trained neural network, and many months of testing. In contrast, fiber-optic drones are technologically simpler but more expensive, have shorter flight ranges, less maneuverability, and carry less explosive payload.

At the beginning of 2024, due to the evident downsides of fiber-optic drones, everyone was convinced that engineers would pursue the implementation of machine vision. In the summer, Ukraine even announced a first state tender for such drones. However, this technology has not yet fully matured.

"Machine vision is not developing as quickly as we thought. Some manufacturers sent drones to the front with rather weak targeting algorithms. Additionally, the problem lies with the Russian EW, which is positioned not at the target but along the way, putting the operator at risk of losing the drone before it sees the target.

Currently, all developers are reassessing the challenges and improving their algorithms. We are preparing to release a drone with an enhanced camera and updated systems that can target from over one kilometer away. To address the EW challenge on the way to the target, we have developed a cruise control function that allows the drone to autonomously reach the target area. I believe that by the end of winter, a significant second wave of machine vision integration into FPV drones will begin," said Alexey Babenko, director of Vyriy drone company.

Meanwhile, the Russians decided not to wait for their machine vision technology to mature and immediately pursued a parallel track—starting mass production of fiber-optic drones.

The idea is not new. Back in the 1970s, the USSR produced anti-tank systems "Fagot," where the operator guided the missile via a long cable. Later, cable control gained popularity in civilian drones used for tunnel, pipe, mine analysis, and other areas with problematic communication.

The emergence of military fiber-optic drones was only a matter of time. The first demonstration models from Russian and Ukrainian engineers appeared as early as 2023, but it was the occupiers who believed in this technology and rapidly scaled it, partnering with Chinese factories.

<The design of such drones is not much different from standard combat FPV drones, except they have a larger frame and more powerful batteries because they carry several kilograms of wire spool that unwinds during movement. The smallest models can operate at distances up to 2 km, while the largest can reach up to 20 km. The wire itself is connected to the operator's control unit and provides high-quality images with almost no delay.

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Since the summer of 2024, numerous videos have emerged showcasing the use of Russian fiber-optic drones in two key areas for Russia: the Kursk region and near the city of Pokrovsk. It became clear that such drones are operational and urgently needed by the Ukrainian army.

Ukrainian Fiber-Optic Drones

At the start of the year, the Ministry of Defense sent a clear signal to the market by conducting demonstration tests of fiber-optic drones. "Typically, it takes about six months to a year from the emergence of an effective solution on the front to a government order in Ukraine. This is what we are currently witnessing with fiber-optic drones," noted Babenko.

The Defense Procurement Agency of the Ministry of Defense informed that there are currently no contracts signed with manufacturers, but the process of preparing the first agreements has already begun. However, besides the Ministry of Defense, other security agencies, State Special Communications, charitable foundations, and directly military units can also purchase these drones.

"We proposed developing a fiber-optic drone back in early 2023, but the army was not interested in purchasing them. At that time, standard FPV drones were sufficient for defeating the enemy, and the fiber optics significantly increased the drone's cost. Two years ago, a spool of fiber optics and a signal transmission chip from Chinese manufacturers cost up to $2500. No one wanted to pay such amounts for a disposable drone.

Now, the situation has drastically changed: standard FPV drones are increasingly being jammed by EW, and the price of fiber optic spools has dropped to $500 each, as Chinese factories received large orders from Russia and ramped up production.

Technologically, these drones are quite simple. Our model is undergoing codification and will be ready for contracting and mass production by February," said Vladislav Alekseenko, co-founder of Smart Electronics Group.

The biggest beneficiaries of the spread of this new technology are Chinese factories, which supply spools to both sides of the conflict. "Recently, we learned that one of the Chinese factories has been producing fiber optic spools for the RF for seven months. We are now ordering from them too," said one Ukrainian drone manufacturer off the record.

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According to the Brave1 technology cluster, more than 25 teams of engineers are currently working on mastering this area. About 10 of them are preparing documentation for the codification of their drones, which will pave the way for their first contracts. One model has already been codified, and two more are in the final stage. The cluster supports the engineering teams throughout the process and assists with testing.

<Now, Ukraine has factories capable of producing thousands of such drones per month. To expedite procurement, Brave1 has compiled a catalog of manufacturers of fiber-optic drones with their contact information,