Fibre optic cables – usually used to deliver broadband to UK homes – have become a key component of warfare in the last year, being attached to drones to protect their communications and keep them functional.
But they have a key vulnerability: the link between the drone operator and the device itself.
But these communications have been subjected to ‘jamming’, where an enemy system deliberately disrupts the signals governing the drone to render them useless.
Fibre optic drones vulnerable but cheap
“Western companies have been trying to make ever more complex drone technology, but the Russians about a year ago started using reels of fibre optic,” said Karl Eze, the CEO of Point Zenith, a leading drone firm which has contracts with the UK’s Ministry of Defence.
The fibre optic cables aren’t a silver bullet for drone warfare; the wire makes less maneuverable than typical drones, and the cables, which can stretch from 10km to 40km, are vulnerable to being cut or damaged.
They are – crucially – cheap. “You can buy these kits from Chinese companies online for £900 pounds for a 10km spool, and a few hundred for the laser technology,” Mr Eze said.
Fibre optic devices aren’t useful in every situation, and he said they won’t replace other, cable-free drones. But they are an increasingly crucial part of the drone arsenal, used to attack whatever is jamming the other drones, to free them up to be used again.
“You can shoot them down, the same as a normal drone, but they’re very small, so that creates a problem. Most air defence systems are optimised for larger targets. Plus, there is often a very high number,” he said.
However, many are likely to break without intervention, Mr Reynolds said.
“They are made cheaply, so a proportion will fail. They seem to be fairly good at flying low, and don’t seem to need more elevation to avoid tangling. But we dont have good idea of their reliability yet.”
Another photograph shared on Russian military blog pages claimed to show tangled cables around a car wheel, but it is not confirmed to be fibre optic drone wiring, with some commentators suggesting it was vehicle incapacitating steel fibres.
— Yigal Levin (@YigalLevin) March 19, 2025
Drone warfare changing in real time
Drone adaption is traditionally a “predator prey” relationship, in which one side changes its signals to avoid jamming and enjoys a “fleeting advantage” before its opponent adapts and manages to jam it again, Eze said.
“It’s an example of high tech vs the right tech, and human ingenuity finding simple ways round a complex problem,” Mr Eze said.
Interceptor drones which are “cheap, disposable drones used to crash into larger, more advanced UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles]” started out with people gaffa taping sticks to drones and propelling them into larger devices.
Ukraine has expanded its arsenal of drones
Traditionally, this evolution has been spearheaded by Ukraine, which has a more innovative, entrepreunial approach, before being copied by Russia which can then scale up the technology through its large industrial base.
Ukraine also struck a major Russian strategic bomber airfield some 435 miles from the front line.
square RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR Explosions across Moscow as Ukraine targets Russia with 'hundreds' of drones
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Last year, Nato officials warned that low-cost and accessible drones pose “one of the most important threats” to Nato defences, after The i Paper was granted access to a key Nato base on the banks of the Black Sea in Romania.
“The way both militaries are operating allows them to do that at scale and very rapidly. Ukrainians are working with different units and volunteers, while Russia is a bit more industrialised,” he said.
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