The Russia-Ukraine war has long evolved into a drone war. Both sides are using drones, whether long-range or so - called "First - Person View" (FPV) drones, as alternatives to artillery, and the performance of these drones seems to be improving every day.
Meanwhile, electronic warfare measures (such as jammers) are also constantly being improved to counter various drones. Ukraine has recently been working on enhancing its electronic warfare capabilities because Russia is particularly strong in this field.
However, since last summer, a new type of drone has appeared on the battlefield, against which electronic warfare measures are ineffective because they do not use radio waves. These drones are called "fiber - optic drones" and are controlled by operators through a long fiber - optic cable. Although Ukraine had its first such drone in 2023, in Kyiv, at first, few believed in the application prospects of fiber - optic drones in front - line combat.
The situation in Russia is different. During Ukraine's raid on the Kursk region, the Russian army first conducted large - scale tests of these drones. In early January 2025, when Ukraine launched a smaller - scale offensive in Kursk again, a large number of videos showed that Ukraine's electronic warfare measures were very effective against Russian drones. However, these measures had no effect on the fiber - optic drones that had already been deployed on all important front lines.
The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense emphasized at the end of December last year: "We are winning the drone war against Russia." He pointed out that Russia's large - scale shift to using fiber - optic drones is a big problem for Ukraine. "This is the trend this year. In 2025, we must jointly find solutions to effectively counter a large number of fiber - optic drones."
However, Ukraine not only needs means to counter these drones but also needs to have its own fiber - optic drones. Recently, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has sent a clear signal to domestic manufacturers: front - line troops are in urgent need of these drones, and the country is willing to purchase them in large quantities.
It is reported that currently about 25 teams are involved in developing Ukraine's own fiber - optic drones. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces also announced at the end of last year that the most important tests had been completed. If mass production can start soon, Russia's advantage in this field may weaken from March.
Most of the fiber - optic drones currently used by Ukraine are provided by volunteers, and the quantity is small. It is expected that by this autumn, the number of fiber - optic and FPV drones used by both Russia and Ukraine will be roughly the same.
Although fiber - optic drones have advantages, it does not mean they will completely replace FPV drones.
A platoon leader of an anti - tank company in the 13th Brigade of the Ukrainian National Guard said: "Ideally, troops should be equipped with FPV drones of various frequencies, drones with machine vision, and a large number of fiber - optic drones."
He believes that each means has its unique advantages and can complete necessary tasks. "For example, fiber - optic drones can be used to defend against enemy armored vehicle attacks," he said. "They can work normally in foggy weather and are not affected by the electronic warfare equipment installed on enemy vehicles."
Another advantage of fiber - optic drones is that operators can obtain very clear video images, so they are very useful in reconnaissance and destroying potential targets. This advantage helps distinguish between decoy weapons and real ones. In addition, fiber - optic drones can fly at an extremely low altitude, only 2 to 3 meters above the ground, so they can tell whether there are soldiers or civilians in a moving vehicle.
The drawback of fiber - optic drones is their short flight distance, usually no more than 10 kilometers. This is related to the high cost, but more importantly, enough space needs to be left for ammunition - the longer the fiber - optic cable, the less space is left for ammunition.