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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[–] Tiger_Man_@lemmy.blahaj.zone 69 points 6 days ago (3 children)

Another proof that wired connections are superior

[–] theblips@lemm.ee 11 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Rhythm and fighting game players have known this for decades now

[–] KuroiKaze@lemmy.world 3 points 5 days ago

Yes we fucking do

[–] weew@lemmy.ca 6 points 6 days ago

I N P U T L A G

[–] Phoenicianpirate@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago

Damn straight.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 19 points 6 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (2 children)

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

[–] nednobbins@lemm.ee 5 points 5 days ago

Wire guided missiles have been in use since WWII.

Markus Reisner has a pretty good explanation of how they're deployed in one of his videos.

They have much shorter range so they basically set them up as ambushes. The wired drone gets hidden somewhere at a choke point. An other operator flies a recon drone at long range. When they report that a good target has come into range the wired drone takes off and hits the target.

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[–] GroundedGator@lemmy.world 30 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Next evolution, carrier drones. Larger fiber drones that carry smaller radio drones and can also act as a repeater when needed.

[–] madsen@lemmy.world 10 points 6 days ago

"Carrier has arrived."

[–] piecat@lemmy.world 6 points 6 days ago
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[–] SkunkWorkz@lemmy.world 13 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Reminds me of those old torpedos where the propeller was powered by pulling a cable.

https://youtu.be/qvtZIdSI1Yk

[–] weew@lemmy.ca 11 points 6 days ago (2 children)

There were some actual torpedoes that used miles-long wire to control

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[–] untakenusername@sh.itjust.works 17 points 6 days ago (5 children)

this sounds so stupid but it might work

[–] perestroika@lemm.ee 17 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (3 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.

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[–] scarabic@lemmy.world 9 points 6 days ago (5 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.

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[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 7 points 6 days ago

Like torpedos used to do.

[–] nednobbins@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

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

[–] TachyonTele@lemm.ee 4 points 5 days ago

Sure. But it just might still work.

[–] SirActionSack@aussie.zone 6 points 6 days ago

Stupid like a TOW missle.

[–] peoplebeproblems@midwest.social 18 points 6 days ago (1 children)

So basically we need a REALLY big wall

[–] Kolanaki@pawb.social 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Multiphasic drones capable of passing through solid material are next!

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[–] theblips@lemm.ee 6 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Don't these reveal the location of the operator, though?

[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 11 points 5 days ago (2 children)

How? If you think they're going to successfully follow a filament thinner than human hair over 6 miles I'd love to know

[–] Crikeste@lemm.ee 5 points 5 days ago (2 children)

Ok, but then how strong can such a filament be? Seems like anything and everything could potentially severe the connection

[–] Angry_Autist@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

there's literally 70 years of fly by wire minitions I'm sure there's a rich back and forth series of countermeasures and baffles

[–] Wizard_Pope@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago

Since the filament is not under tension as it is unwinding I think unless someone intentionally cuts it or it jams somehow it should not jus break.

[–] theblips@lemm.ee 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

I mean after the attack the strands left could be used to trace operation spots. But I guess you're right, I didn't realise they were that thin

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[–] PoppyChulo@lemmy.wtf 4 points 5 days ago

Drop off this drone with a different drone. Then fly it out wherever the other drones couldn't get to.

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