World News @lemmy.world HellsBelle @sh.itjust.works 3w ago

‘They cannot be jammed’: fibre optic drones pose new threat in Ukraine

www.theguardian.com ‘They cannot be jammed’: fibre optic drones pose new threat in Ukraine

Experimental kamikaze FPV drones have been developed that can penetrate spaces previously thought safe

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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Another proof that wired connections are superior
Wouldn't the fiber lead directly back to the pilot, though? You'd have to constantly be moving locations, otherwise they could just follow the wire.

Edit: I know, I know, the more I've thought about it--and despite them actually proving it's possible to do as mentioned in the article--it's just not very practical to do in many situations. As one commenter mentioned below, after seeing pictures of some trees, numerous drones create a web among trees/bushes/etc. So tracing lines when drones are launched from multiple locations would be extremely difficult and they could even set up ambushed at certain points if they saw enemy scouts doing it.
This kind of idea is between genius and stupid.

It's a cheap an easy solution to a lot of problem, and it sounds like the kind of proposal an intern would do
This has been going on for a few months now. Why is this a "new threat" ?

There have even already been battlefield videos where you see tons of fibre optic in the air.
Next evolution, carrier drones. Larger fiber drones that carry smaller radio drones and can also act as a repeater when needed.
Those news are already not so new any more. We've had reports of those two months ago.

Since fiber optic wire guided missiles exist it's not that much of a leap to think it should work with drones too, so long as the weight works out.

Fiber is really really thin. 9 micrometer core diameter and 125 micrometer cladding diameter (incl core) and 250 micrometer coating diameter (incl core, cladding). The 10 km spools we use in our lab for network equipment testing are boxes of only like 20x20x10cm, and those aren't optimized to be extra small with bend insensitive fiber. I can totally believe the 1.2-1.4 kg for 10 km in the article.

Edit: leak -> leap
So basically we need a REALLY big wall
this sounds so stupid but it might work
Reminds me of those old torpedos where the propeller was powered by pulling a cable.

https://youtu.be/qvtZIdSI1Yk
Mankind invents their own problems.... fantastic... 🙄
"Secret workshop"? Why are they talking openly to the press then?
Don't these reveal the location of the operator, though?
It's a flying nightmare, until somebody figures out how to cut the cable in flight.
Knowing how fragile fibre cable is especially when bent at weird angles (which is prone to happen in flight), this doesn't sound like the most genius idea. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

132 comments