Fibre-optic drones

Main article: UAV

Chronicle

2025

The Washington Post: Russia liberates Kursk region thanks to fiber-optic drones

Unmanned aerial vehicles on fiber, they helped Russian troops liberate the Kursk region. This is stated in an article The Washington Post published at the end of May 2025.

Drones on fiber are connected to the base station using a thin hardened fiber optic cable, which serves to transmit video signal and control commands. Such devices are immune to electromagnetic effects, and therefore can be used to perform combat missions in electronic warfare (electronic warfare) conditions. In addition, connection to the control station by cable provides a permanent communication channel, regardless of environmental conditions: this is especially useful when performing missions on difficult terrain. The length of the fiber optic thread, which stretches from a special coil, can reach 20 kilometers.

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Фото: The Washington Post

The Washington Post says that Russian fiber-optic drones significantly outnumbered Ukrainian drones in the Kursk region. This, it is alleged, made the movement of soldiers so risky that Ukrainian troops sometimes found themselves on the front line without food, ammunition and escape routes.

What we are seeing now is a revolution in military operations using unmanned aerial vehicles, "says Andrew Cote, a former senior defense official.

Experts note that, at first glance, connecting a cable to a wireless drone may seem like a technological step backwards - and, indeed, there are some drawbacks, including the risk of entangling the thread. However, in general, drones on fiber optic significantly increase the likelihood of successful completion of combat operations.^[1]

Russia began to use high-range Svarog fiber-optic drones in the SVO zone - they fly 25 km

At the end of March 2025, it became known that Russia began to use new fiber-optic drones of the Svarog family in the zone of a special military operation. These unmanned aerial vehicles have an increased range - they are capable of delivering cargo up to 25 km. Read more here.

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