this post was submitted on 23 Apr 2025
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At a secret workshop in Ukraine’s north-east, where about 20 people assemble hundreds of FPV (first person view) drones, there is a new design. Under the frame of the familiar quadcopter is a cylinder, the size of a forearm. Coiled up inside is fibre optic cable, 10km (6 miles) or even 20km long, to create a wired kamikaze drone.

Capt Yuriy Fedorenko, the commander of a specialist drone unit, the Achilles regiment, says fibre optic drones were an experimental response to battlefield jamming and rapidly took off late last year. With no radio connection, they cannot be jammed, are difficult to detect and able to fly in ways conventional FPV drones cannot.

“If pilots are experienced, they can fly these drones very low and between the trees in a forest or tree line. If you are flying with a regular drone, the trees block the signal unless you have a re-transmitter close,” he observes. Where tree lined supply roads were thought safer, fibre optic drones have been able to get through.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 3 days ago (5 children)

this sounds so stupid but it might work

[–] [email protected] 17 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I build some (they aren't in Ukrainian hands yet, but will be - if they want them, because they're advancing super fast and could be many steps ahead). There is no "might", they work.

10 kilometers of fiber weighs 1.5 kg, less if you buy fancier kinds of fiber. A drone with 10-inch props lifts this without problems. You can bend the fiber around a pencil and only experience degraded signal. Only a 90-degree bend will make it snap. In the war zone, landscapes after some battles already resemble "attack of the spiders" movies.

In peace time, the challenge is finding a farmer who allows using their field to test this. Promising to reel everything in and pay for damaged crops goes a long way, though. But sea is an even better idea - easier to reel it back.

P.S.

I am quite grateful to an Ukrainian radio amateur, Serhii "Flash" Beskrestnov. He published info about the early Russian models that were found crashed, and made a big deal about it, as one should. People listened to him and took him seriously, and started developing them ASAP.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

bend the fiber around a pencil and only experience degraded signal

Interesting. Are you using G.657.A2 then?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

According to labels, I'm using plain ordinary G.652.D with a 25 mm bending radius. Maybe I got lucky with the pencil experiment. :)

I know the "bend insensitive" versions exist, but when the cheaper alternative worked, there seemed to be no need.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Wow interesting! Thanks for checking the label!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 2 days ago (1 children)

At first I imagined the drone dragging its cable and that seemed terrible, but then I realized they’re carrying a spool and they let cable out as they go. That’s actually brilliant and absolutely could work. 12 miles of cable. Only thing is it adds weight so you can’t deliver as much explosive payload.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Honestly, it's old tech. There were guide-by-wire missiles for a long time before this.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I mean, yeah, so is electricity, aerofoils, and explosives. Old tech.

I'm not sure what your point is...

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 day ago

It's easier, and doesn't look this bad for you, if you simply don't say anything when you have no idea what is going on.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago (1 children)

They do work. They've been using them to blow up tanks.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 2 days ago

Sure. But it just might still work.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 2 days ago

Stupid like a TOW missle.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 days ago

Like torpedos used to do.