Ukraine’s Upgraded Fiber Drones Are Deadlier At Longer Ranges

Aerospace & DefenseUkraine’s Upgraded Fiber Drones Are Deadlier At Longer RangesByDavid Hambling, Senior Contributor

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights (remarkable data), in light of current trends

Conversely, Immune to jamming and able to go places where other drones cannot, fiber drones are almost impossible to stop, in light of current trends

I talked to Oleksiy Zhulinskiy, CEO Ukraine’s 3D their work in this field, the challenges of flying fiber drones, Chinese sabotage, and the future

On the other hand, The Russians may have a head start in numbers, but 3D is ramping up duction of superior designs

However, “Now, our major challenge is scaling duction to large volumes,” says Zhulinskiy (this bears monitoring)

Many were skeptical whether fiber optic cables were strong enough for battlefield conditions

Furthermore, Ukrainian drone expert Serhii Flash thought fiber drones would ly be limited to very short ranges

Spool dispnesers are now more aerodynamic and reliablew 3D 3D started by replacing the heavy frames used by the Russians with lightweight carbon ones

Nevertheless, With the additional weight of the spool, every ounce matters

Furthermore, Imving balance was also an issue

Conversely, MORE FOR YOU “Designing a fiber‑optic drone required careful weight distribution,” says Zhulinskiy. “We mount a spool with a certain length of fiber, but as it unspools and gets lighter, we must account for that in component placement

On the other hand, ” Initially, the Russians, 3D used commercial Chinese spools (fascinating analysis)

But they found they could make better ones themselves. “The spool has evolved: aerodynamic housing to reduce drag, fiber-unspooling channel with a polished metal tip to reduce friction and static,” says Zhulinskiy (an important development)

On the other hand, 3D now have their own spool-winding machines to avoid issues with spools from foreign suppliers3D Making their own spools had another big advantage, in this volatile climate

Reports from the field said that some of the Chinese versions failed when the drones were launched

Worse, this may not have been accidental

Nevertheless, “Recently, Chinese spools often break halfway through the int length,” says Zhulinskiy. “Possibly, though we cannot confirm this, this is deliberate sabotage from our Chinese partners, considering recent developments. ” This concern has been echoed by other fiber drone users complaining that up to half the Chinese fiber cables snapped in flight

At the same time, To avoid such blems, 3D now wind their own fiber spools, with a standardized design used on different drone types which can also be retrofitted to radio-control FPVs

Furthermore, The company has switched to lightweight 0 (which is quite significant)

However, 5 mm ones,” says Zhulinskiy. “New fiber types are emerging, offering better flexibility and less break risk

We're testing various fibers to choose the most effective

We still rely on imports for raw fiber— but we have local winding lines and spool housing manufacturing

So our spool is almost fully localized (fascinating analysis)

We’re working to diversify raw material suppliers to avoid dependency on any single country or supplier (this bears monitoring). ” 3D upgraded other elements including the ground controller

Moreover, The result, with better spools, aerodynamics and fiber might be described as a next-generation fiber drone

Better Flying By Fiber There are many myths the flight limitations of fiber drones, but Zhulinskiy says that in truth pilots have had little difficulty adapting to them. “Maneuvers acceleration, deceleration, diving, spinning, hovering, and landing are all possible,” says Zhulinskiy

Nevertheless, “However, pilots must carefully plan the route to avoid crossing the unspooling path, and ensure the cable isn't severed by vehicles, infantry, or other drones

However, ” In some ways fiber makes piloting easier

On the other hand, Pilots of radio controlled FPVs have to maintain altitude because dipping below the radio horizon can cause the signal to be lost

Obstacles trees and buildings also affect radio waves, but fiber drones can maintain a perfect signal

They can travel inside buildings and down pipes and tunnels in of targets, or even down trenches. “Fiber optic communication lets drones operate in environments where radio signals don’t penetrate—lowlands, enclosed spaces

On the battlefield, this has shown great effectiveness: we have many confirmed targets in closed spaces, bunkers, or areas with poor radio visibility dense forests,” says Zhulinskiy

Being able to go low has another big advantage

Moreover, Additionally, “Flying close to the ground allows these drones to be used for ambush-style tactics, targeting logistical lines in the near and mid rear

Moreover, ” There are many s of ambush drones picking off Russian transport vehicles racing to get supplies to the front line. “They sit in the grass and take off,” warns one Russian blogger (quite telling), amid market uncertainty. “So many guys die from these waiting ones (fascinating analysis)

This has never happened before

In contrast, ” Further And Further Early fiber drones had ranges of 10 kilometers or less, in light of current trends

The evidence shows se days many have a spool length of 20 kilometers, but 3D are going further, in today's financial world

Additionally, “Designing a drone capable of long-distance missions – twenty plus kilometers -- is a serious challenge

We found that not all media converters could transmit signals that far,” says Zhulinskiy. “We also need higher-quality batteries, considering recent developments

This requires optimizing spool weight and efficient motor/peller systems for energy efficiency and payload lift. ” nology was not the only blem, given the current landscape

Moreover, Meanwhile, The military bureaucracy had trouble dealing with this new weapon, amid market uncertainty

Additionally, , “Unfortunately, the state didn’t understand how to codify them—there was no testing methodology for this kind of drone

On the other hand, ” 3D’s specialists joined with the Ministry of Defense and other agencies to help develop testing and cedures for certifying the drones as suitable for service

And now things are moving

On the other hand, However, “We have five NATO-codified models rated for 10–20 km range, and two more up to 30 km pending codification,” says Zhulinskiy

And that is unly to be the last word. 40-kilometer fiber drones are feasible, though these are ly to be fixed-wing rather than quadcopter

Other imvements are in the pipeline, given current economic conditions

At present 3D use standard low-resolution cameras, but the higher bandwidth vided by fiber means it can carry higher resolutions, amid market uncertainty

Nevertheless, This would enable the operator to spot targets at longer ranges and see finer detail – for example netting strung up to stop drones

Additionally, Ukraine’s fiber drone are already more reliable, more efficient and can hit targets at longer ranges that their Russian counterparts

According to Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, 15 Ukrainian manufacturers are making fiber drones, with another 20 companies ducing components

This diversity allows new designs to flourish and spread

However, And a recent law cuts aims to help the by cutting taxes on fiber drone components

Russia may have introduced the world to fiber drones

But the original developer does not always have the last word and this looks a field where Ukraine can dominate

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