Wired, unblockable drones from Russia probably won’t change the game in the end

Since Ukraine’s surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, reports have repeatedly surfaced highlighting the use of new wired unmanned aerial vehicles by Russian forces to target Ukrainian military vehicles such as tanks and personnel carriers.

Images shared on social media via open-source intelligence accounts also documented drones being used in the battle. The indicator in the video is the superior image quality compared to wireless systems.

The Russian military’s Telegram channels shared images of the apparent uses, writing that the drones were “controlled via a fiber-optic cable, which ensures its high accuracy and resistance to electronic warfare.”

Drones immune to jamming

The first documented use of fiber-optic drones was in March, when Ukraine recovered a Russian prototype, but the use of these weapons appears to be more widespread now.

The fiber optic wire on the drone effectively maintains a stable connection between the drone and the operator, resisting radio jamming and electronic warfare and ensuring high-quality video transmission so the pilot can see where they are flying.

As the drone flies, its cable is unwound from a spool attached to the drone.

Various companies, including German and Chinese companies, have been working on fiber-optic drones. German company HIGHCAT, for example, plans to test its fiber-optic drone in Ukraine sometime this month, according to United24, a Ukrainian government-led operation that crowdfunds to develop and build drones for war.

Stacie Pettyjohn, director of the defense program at the Center for a New American Security, explained that it is currently difficult to judge the effectiveness of these systems based on a select subset of information found online, but their use makes sense given the impact of jamming on drones .

It is just one of the ways that Russia and Ukraine have adapted to this problem.

More than one way to solve a problem

“There are two ways that both countries are trying to respond to this,” Pettyjohn said. The low-tech, low-cost solution is something like this new wired drone, “tying it to a guidance system that cannot be disrupted.”

The design is similar in some ways to weapons such as the US-made TOW anti-tank missile, which is a cable-guided system that allows the operator to maintain a link, change flight paths and ensure the missile meets its target.

The high-tech solution to the jamming problem revolves around the use of an autonomous terminal guidance system, effectively making the drone a “fire-and-forget” weapon as it is locked onto a target, should the lock disable the connection between the operator and drone. It also doesn’t require as much skill from a pilot because of this locking capability. There are strong indications that the next stage of drone warfare may be here.

Both options have pros and cons, Pettyjohn said. But the wired drone has a number of potential drawbacks.

First of all, the operator needs to consider how he uses the wired drone. Drones used with this type of connection are already typically short-range tactical drones, but the cable adds an additional range constraint. Tethered drones are also likely to be compact and likely to carry smaller payloads.

Pettyjohn said that “when you add the extra weight and complexity of having a leash that’s attached to the drone, there’s only so far it’s going to be able to go.”

The attached wire can also limit where the operator can fly the drone. It might, for example, catch on tree branches or tangle with other wired drones. And possible counters like wire cutting could also limit the system’s usefulness in combat.

HIGHCAT said its line falls to the ground once it is unwound, “which eliminates the possibility of tangling.” It is unclear whether Russian systems adequately address this issue or not.

But any concern about the downsides of wired drones doesn’t mean they won’t be useful. There are videos of these weapons hitting targets and dealing damage.

A drone arms race

Soldiers fighting along the front lines in Ukraine, where fighting in the electromagnetic spectrum is significant, may see the value of maintaining a wired connection to their drone to resist jamming and ensure they can hit a short-range target of action.

Drone losses in electronic warfare have been huge, so the advantages of the link may outweigh the disadvantages. The threat of being locked up is probably far more concerning than hanging them in a tree.

HIGHCAT co-founder Jan Hartmann recently said that the fiber-optic drones developed by the company were “designed with the front lines in mind, in particular, the current developments in Ukraine. We wanted to create a COTS (Commercial Off The Shelf) system that was not jammed by enemy combatants.”

Still, this type of technology is more likely to become another option in Russia’s and Ukraine’s toolboxes as the race to develop drones continues, Pettyjohn said.

First Person View, or FPV, drones have begun to become a notable threat on the battlefield in Ukraine. They started out as surveillance tools or fire control assets, but quickly evolved into something more, especially precision strike options.

From there the technology expanded. The drones were used to drop mines or grenades, hit vehicles or troop positions with on-board explosives, or even intercept other drones, such as larger and more sophisticated systems.

Electronic warfare has taken its toll on the force, but now there are new things like wired drones. At some point, as countermeasures are developed, another capability will most likely take its place. Maybe they’re AI-driven autonomous drones. Maybe it’s something else. Ukrainian officials said unmanned ground combat systems could be the next “game changer.”

Both sides continue to engage in a game of cat and mouse, adapting to and countering each other’s latest developments. And as a Ukrainian official previously told Business Insider, “this is the most technologically advanced war in human history.”

“Technologies make a difference on the battlefield,” the official explained, saying “we’re basically reinventing their use every day.”