Ukraine And Russia Battle To Defeat “Un-jammable” Fiber-Optic Drones

KYIV OBLAST, UKRAINE - DECEMBER 26: The Main Department of Defence Innovations of the Ministry of ... [+] Defence of Ukraine is testing out fiber-optic controlled drones similar to those being used by Russia. (Photo by Viktor Fridshon/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

In the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, innovation in drone and counter-drone technology has become a defining feature of the battlefield. Since many counter-drone systems work by jamming the radio signals controlling the drones, both Russia and Ukraine are increasingly using “jam-proof” drones that communicate over lightweight fiber-optic cables. The lightweight cable is wrapped onto a spool mounted to the drone. It unspools as the drone flies, allowing the drone operator to maintain a communication connection even in the presence of jamming. Regardless, in the cat-and-mouse game of drone and counter-drone technology, even these drones have inherent vulnerabilities that both countries will soon exploit.

The challenge of countering these tethered drones goes beyond their immunity to jamming. Since jamming is ineffective, Ukrainian and Russian forces have to use kinetic methods to counter them. However, many kinetic counter-drone systems rely on the radio signal from the drone, which includes the video feed, for detection. This signal is then triangulated to determine the drone's precise position. With fiber-optic drones, these feeds are transmitted to the operator over the cable, leaving no detectable signal.

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