Олексій Дзюба War 16 December 2024, 17:06

Fiber-optic drones are the new "gold" of the front. Here's how they fly in difficult terrain and work in sub-zero temperatures: report

Our journalist recently visited a training ground where the Dronarium organization, which specializes in UAVs, was testing drones on fiber optics in difficult terrain. The technology itself is not new. It has been used for decades as a component of fiber optic cables through which Internet connections pass.

The war in Ukraine “breathed new life” into the technology. Today, both we and the enemy are actively using it on the front. Further in the report you will learn why fiber optics has become relevant again, what are the features of its application and what will happen if you get tangled in its almost invisible threads.

Why fiber optics became popular

The main reason for the popularity of fiber optics on the front line is the impossibility of jamming it with electronic warfare systems (i.e. electronic warfare systems — ed.). Our front line is literally inundated with the latter, and there are cases when you "jam" both your own and others'.

It's very difficult to directly break a fiber optic wire, but when it starts to bend, clinging to obstacles, it can break the connection.

Ukraine has been aggressively pursuing fiber optics for drones, not out of sheer luck. Now the Russians are 3-4 months ahead of us in this regard, provided we catch up with them in production.

In parallel, Ukraine is working on a solution that would help combat enemy drones using fiber optics. Finding it quickly is not easy, and right now it seems that the greatest vulnerability of fiber optics is its fragile structure, which is most evident in wartime conditions.

Photo - Installing a fiber optic coil on an FPV

Another possible “weak point” of fiber-optic drones is piloting. The pilot of such a drone must take into account obstacles, turns, and also be able to navigate the terrain and the camera while flying the drone. Thus, to begin with, he must study the terrain, knowing the landmarks for the flight on it. Therefore, Dronarium is developing a course specifically for pilots of fiber-optic UAVs. To understand the movement restrictions: it is impossible to gracefully do “figure eights” with such a drone, because it has a coil with fiber optics installed on it.

FPV and "Baba Yaga"

Several types of drones were tested at the test site. One of them is FPV, to which a coil with fiber optics was connected. This was done by an engineer, literally sitting on a chair, at a table, in the snow, in the field.

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"The weight of the simulated ammunition is approximately 1.5 kg. The weight of the coil is about 2.3 kg. Our goal is to fly in difficult terrain. There is an opinion that controlling such a drone in forest conditions is difficult and unproductive," announced the ex-military woman with the call sign "Ruda" who now works at Dronarium before the flight.

The drone flew at an altitude of about 160 m and a distance of up to 1 km (these were the limitations of the test site) and successfully returned to its starting point.

Another goal was to test how the fiber optic would behave in sub-zero temperatures. It turned out that it had no obstacles or problems in this sense.

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"Inside the coil are a media controller and a media converter, to which a fiber optic cable is connected. It, in turn, is attached to a ground station, where another media converter is located. The task of the latter is to convert information, say, from electrical signals and vice versa," explains engineer Volodymyr, who was engaged in assembling the drone in the field.

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Another UAV on which fiber-optic technology was tested was the "Baba Yaga" drone - it is more massive and can be connected not only to ammunition, but also to other drones that fly in different directions at the right moment.

First, you need to perform a “ritual dance” with such a drone (it’s not that easy, considering its parameters). In fact, this is how the drone is calibrated to accurately connect it to the control systems:

"Why didn't we do this before? I'll be honest, because before the fiber optic ended at 5 km. For a large drone carrying bombs, it's nothing. Now it's 10 km, 15 km, and even 20 km somewhere, and that's something," says one of the representatives of Dronarium, which deals with UAVs of the "Baba Yaga" type. If the fiber optic breaks, additional communication channels of the drone are turned on.

How much does such a drone cost? Dronarium says that converting a drone to a fiber-optic one may seem expensive, the price of such a UAV will be about $4,500. At the same time, the drone will come with 5 coils (each coil is disposable). The price of one coil is about $700-$800.

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Fiber optic is a very thin but tough white thread that is invisible in the snow. The more it is used (measured in hundreds of meters and tens of kilometers), the more wire remains underfoot. It is easy to get tangled in it (which happened to our journalist) and it is easy to trip over it. A fellow journalist got tangled in the fiber optic of a drone that had already taken off and stood still until it landed so as not to tear the material.

At the front, there are unlikely to be drone launches from open terrain, but in combat conditions, it is worth considering that you have such material under your feet and it is better to keep an eye on it when enemy shells are flying at you and you need to hurry.

Ground drones on a wire

Fiber optics can be “connected” to almost every type of drone: aerial, water, or ground. The main question is: what and how exactly do you plan to use it in your missions?

Photo — Preparing a ground drone for testing

As dev.ua explained in a recent interview, it is an additional tool for certain, specific operations. Some military personnel are considering fiber-optic drones to repel enemy assaults. When an assault group or column of equipment protected by electronic warfare moves forward. When a regular FPV cannot operate, a fiber-optic drone flies, knocks out electronic warfare, and regular FPVs continue to fly.

"The main thing in ground-based drones on fiber optics, like all others, is a secure connection. The length of your route depends on the length of the coil," says one of the Dronarium specialists.

Photo — Ground-based drone on fiber optics

He adds that in the case of ground platforms, the terrain and terrain play a big role. “For ground-based equipment, it’s a more critical story, because there are bushes, forests, hills, etc. When you fly, it’s easier. So far, we’ve managed to reach a distance of 10 km,” Dronarium says.

Fiber optics can be connected to both a transport platform (for transporting wounded, food, or ammunition) and to drones that lay mines in the area.

Postscript

Our journalist spent 4 hours at the training ground in the winter and ##ed from the cold. At the same time, he had a place to heat, tea, sandwiches and after the demonstration went home to warm up. And now let's remember our soldiers who spend days, weeks, months, and some even years in similar (often even worse) weather conditions, being under enemy fire. Therefore, we urge you not to forget about the front and to help our Defense Forces in every way.

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