In March 2024, a new type of Russian drone appeared on the Ukrainian battlefield. This drone broke through the traditional radio interference defense means and adopted an unexpected technology: fiber-optic communication. cell phone jammer This innovation not only triggered widespread discussion in the technical community, but also provided new tactical ideas for electronic warfare on the modern battlefield.GPS jammer
The peculiar design of this drone was first exposed by Ukrainian military blogger Serhii "Flash".Wifi jammer In a report on March 2, 2024, Flash showed a shot down Russian FPV Kamikaze drone. In addition to the common warhead, the shell of this drone contained a hollow plastic egg with a roll of unidentifiable equipment inside. drone jammer A few days later, Ukrainian experts disassembled the drone and found that the roll of equipment was actually a fiber-optic cable with a length of more than 10 kilometers, connected to a high-speed communication optical transceiver made in China.GSM jammer
The use of this technology is surprising, but not without precedent.signal jammer The characteristics of fiber-optic communication are that it can completely resist radio interference and provide reliable real-time control, which is particularly suitable for electronic warfare environments. Although it is a traditional way for drones to communicate with operators through radio communications, radio interference has become the norm on modern battlefields, especially electronic warfare means in the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. In order to deal with this threat, Russia has obviously turned to more reliable wired communications.
Technical Challenges and Innovations The implementation of this technology is not without challenges. When drones are flying in the air, they must constantly unwind up to 10 kilometers of fiber optic cables, and the fiber itself is extremely fragile and easy to break during flight. However, the Russian technical team has obviously overcome this problem. Ukrainian military experts also mentioned that at the previous Ministry of Defense hackathon, someone had proposed the idea of applying fiber optic technology to drones, but this plan was considered impractical at the time because it was difficult to imagine that drones could successfully unfold such a long fiber optic cable while flying at high altitudes.
However, it turns out that Russia has done it in this regard. The fiber optic reel discovered this time is marked as 10,813 meters (about 6.7 miles) long, which is enough for operators to control drones at a considerable distance. This fiber optic communication is not only resistant to any form of radio interference, but also has strong concealment. Operators can safely control drones from a remote location to avoid being discovered by the enemy.
History of fiber-optic guidance technology Although fiber-optic guidance technology is relatively new in the field of drones, it is not the first time it has been used in the military. The U.S. Army's EFOGM (Extended Fiber-optic Guided Missile) system has achieved the technology of missile guidance through optical fiber as early as the 1990s. Unlike traditional radio or infrared guidance, fiber-optic missiles communicate with operators in real time through fiber-optic cables released after launch. This technology ensures that the missile can still accurately hit the target in a strong electronic interference environment.
The application of fiber optic technology enables this drone to continue to perform missions in an environment with dense electronic interference and avoid being intercepted by the enemy's radio jammers. This provides Russia with greater flexibility in future drone tactics and also poses new challenges to Ukraine in the field of electronic warfare.
The fiber optic drones used by Russia on the battlefield in Ukraine demonstrate the power of innovation on the modern battlefield. Through fiber optic communications, drones not only overcome radio interference, but also demonstrate powerful real-time control capabilities. The successful application of this technology may have a far-reaching impact in future military conflicts, prompting other countries to accelerate the research and development of similar anti-interference drone systems.
