FPV optic fiber drone concepts

BLUF: Optic fiber drones can fly up to 10 km deep inside enemy-controlled territory. Upside: EW resistance; downside: poorer maneuverability, cost. Ukrainian gov proposes new rules for miltech exports/procurement. HIMERA secures investments from Ukraine’s Nezlamni Fund. 

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THE BIG STORY: How the Russian army uses FPV drones with fiber optics

An FPV drone tethered to its operator with a long fiber optic cable is able to bypass many electronic warfare measures, enabling new tactics on the battlefield. 

One such application is setting up ambushes behind Ukrainian supply lines, said a Ukrainian officer.

These types of drones require changes to construction, mostly to accommodate the spool. Spools can weigh up to 1.5-2 kg, which leaves less space for munitions and requires a bigger frame, said Volodymyr, a Ukrainian startup founder and scientist who used to be a test officer for strategic long-range weapons systems. 

“You have a few wires inside optical fiber: receiver (RX), transmitter (TX), voltage, video and ground.” says volunteer soldier Hlib, an enthusiast in FPV-drone engineering.

Fiber optic guidance has been familiar in the world of torpedoes and anti-tank missiles for decades, in systems like the U.S. TOW, the French Akeron MP or German Seehecht. 

But its use for drones is novel.

While it is made from glass, fiber optic cables can be as strong as steel with a diameter of just 0.2 mm. 

“From the point of view of tensile strength, it’s harder to tear by hand than it would seem,” a Ukrainian startup founder working on the technology explains. His team has been engaged in fiber optic communication technologies since 2022.

But Serhii Bokariev, head of fiber optic cable manufacturer OdesCabel, said that the cables are vulnerable to entanglement in branches, and can be damaged. 

The added weight of the spool and cord on the back of an FPV drone restricts mobility. The operator also has to avoid cutting the cord with its own rotors during maneuvers. 

The niche of fiber optic FPV-drones:

Actors using these sorts of drones can operate where others using analog signals cannot operate due to prevailing EW conditions within 10 kilometers of the front line, said a Ukrainian officer.

The inability to detect the drone by traditional means allows the Russians to fly into the rear, land on the ground, turn off the engines, and wait for Ukrainian vehicles to appear. 

The engines being off also extends battery life, further aiding ambush wait times. As soon as a potential target appears, the operator starts the engines and hits the target, the Ukrainian officer explains. 

Coming developments in this technology: 

The Ukrainian army is also using FPV drones with fiber optic cables, but this solution isn’t widely common for now, said Serhii. He added that they’re receiving orders for tens of kilometers of optic fiber on a daily basis. And dozens of companies are working on such technology to make it cheaper and improve the design.

UCAV "Banderyk-Strichka" - example of Ukrainian FPV drone with fiber optic guidance:

So far, only FPV drones are being outfitted with fiber optic guidance. However, it’s possible that Ukrainian and Russian developers will use the same tech on fixed-wing drones, the Ukrainian officer said. 

Current fiber optic drones have a range of up to 10 km, but some FPV drones are under development to reach 20 km, said the founder of a Ukrainian startup.

In that case, the weight will be ~2.5 kg. In theory, the range of an FPV-drone with optical fiber is limited only by its payload, said the anonymous founder of the startup. 

Future technological development will be to reduce the weight of the spool, its cost, and on reliability of the whole product, concludes the founder of the startup.

Countermeasures:

FPV drones with fiber optic guidance are resistant to electronic warfare, so there are two other options to eliminate it: destroying with a shotgun after visual contact or using anti-drone guns or drones with a net. 

Theoretically the RPG-24, or an AT-4 with arrow-shaped shrapnel could be effective as a last-resort solution, said the Ukrainian officer. 

Last Friday, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced a hackathon – “Attack of the Machines 2.0” – to develop protection from drones with optical fiber.

BUSINESS LUNCH TOPICS: What our reporting shows!

1. Zelenskyy appoints new head of the Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control Policy. 

   Ivan Havryliuk, lieutenant general and first deputy minister of defense was appointed on October 25. Havryluk has two weeks to form a new commission. No new members of the commission have been elected yet, but the previous commission consisted of the ministries, SBU, foreign Intelligence service, MP’s, State Space Agency and State Export Control Agency.
   

2. U.S. falling behind on defense tech: A knowledgeable Democratic member of Congress is sounding alarm bells on how the United States is not sufficiently following Ukrainian miltech developments, and is falling behind. "This is happening in real time," he told Counteroffensive.Pro. "Are we absorbing this fast enough? Probably not."
   

   The intelligence community ought to be paying attention to the open-source developments of tactics and technologies from the Ukrainian battlefield, the member of Congress added in a background briefing to national security reporters. "There is no one that has been more innovative than the Ukrainians on cheap, effective drone technology," he said.

   The lawmaker also worried that the U.S. has not effectively regulated artificial intelligence, and that the moment might be passing. "We are moving so quickly that we may soon be in a place where we can't put any rules in place," he said. 

3. Ukraine will establish a government lending program for defense companies in 2025. The state budget was adopted upon first reading with funding of ~$600 million for loans at 5 percent per year. The difference between 5 percent and the market value will be covered by the state. 

   Oleksandr Kovalchuk, Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Finance, Taxation and Customs Policy, listed the main points of the plan for us:

   • Up to ~$2.4 million for working-capital needs at 5%. The term depends on the contract with the Ministry of Defense, which takes time to fulfill.

   • Up to ~$12 million for 3–5 years for the investment needs of companies

   “Oschadbank” and “Ukreximbank” will participate in the program, but they plan for other banks to be involved, though they will have to undergo a special procedure to gain access to state secrets.

   In addition, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution to launch the program in 2024 – with ~$6.3 million budget till the end of the year.

4. How could procurement change in Ukraine? Last Thursday, the Temporary Special Commission on Protecting Investor Rights presented their proposals to Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 1275 on defense procurement. 

   
   It consists of 7 proposals, but 4 of them are crucial to apply, said head of commission Halyna Yanchenko:

   • determination of force majeure circumstances;

   • limiting the maximum amount of the penalty of the supplier's remuneration;

   • issues of exchange rate differences on the fulfillment of contract;

   • payment of supplier remuneration in installments.

Those proposals were developed in coordination with Ukrainian companies and defense organizations, among them NAUDI, Tech Force in UA, the League of Defense Enterprises of Ukraine and the Association of Manufacturers of Arms and Military Equipment of Ukraine. 

Three Ministries are supporting proposals: the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Strategic Industries and the Ministry for Development of Economy and Trade.

5. Ukrainian EW-resistant comms company HIMERA secures investment from Nezlamni Fund in seed round.

The additional funds will help the firm scale production of HIMERA G1 Pro systems and enter new markets. The investment amount remains undisclosed, but the standard investment from the Nezlamni fund ranges from $100k to $400k. Nezlamni is an investment fund focusing on pre-seed and seed-stage in defense tech startups.

"We've been in touch with the Nezlamni team for a while. When we opened this investment round, they were among the first to confirm their participation.” said Misha Rudominskyi, co-founder of HIMERA. “We are currently going through crucial growth stages and are glad to have such partners.”

30 SECOND ELEVATOR PITCH:

Trident Tech is producing a universal land drone platform structured like Lego, allowing modular changes. By default, it functions as a deminer and logistics vehicle. The operator can attach an electronic warfare module so it can be deployed further from the frontlines.

“We are raising money to integrate [aerial] drones to our platform. If communication with the land machine is lost, the [aerial] drone is deployed, activating a relay to extend the communication range.” – said Iurii Turok, CEO of Trident Tech.

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• Thales Belgium will help Ukraine with production of 70 mm anti-air missiles to counter UAVs. In the future, Kyiv can get access to producing missiles FZ275LGR on its own.

• Estonia is looking forward to the chance to order Ukrainian long range drones for its army. Ukrainian minister Rustem Umerov doesn’t see any political restrictions on that contract, claims Estonian minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur.

• Czechoslovak Group committed to buying Vista Outdoor’s ammunition business for $1.91 billion. 

• Russia has presented a rifle with an interceptor drone attached. Pointing the ‘gun’ at an incoming drone will launch a counter-drone, which will intercept and destroy the incoming one. The drone is equipped with a thermal imaging camera and a target recognition and machine vision. 

• Rheinmetall will build four production lines in Ukraine: an ammunition plant, a powder plant and another to produce air defense systems. The fourth factory will produce IFV Lynx and maintain other vehicles.Share the newsletter

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