CBC
In a field on the outskirts of Kharkiv, Ukraine, a drone buzzes through the air as a soldier sitting in the back of a truck uses a controller to steer it during a test flight. For several months, Krab, who is only being identified by his call sign in keeping with Ukrainian military rules, has been using drones fitted with munitions, such as grenades, to target Russian troops and equipment. But this drone carries another fixture: A thin spool containing a 15-kilometre fibre-optic cable that unravels as it flies, giving the drone and the operator a wired connection and making the device immune to the most effective layer of defence — the drone jammers saturating the battlefields of Ukraine. "This is a technological war, " said Krab, who spoke through a translator during an interview with CBC News."It is our job to develop and stay ahead." WATCH | New fibre-optic drones could be a game-changer:War in Ukraine a testing ground While the technology isn't new, Russia and Ukraine are seizing on the promise of fibre-optic cable, with new drones being tested and improved based on battle experience. The Ukraine war has led to the widespread use and rapid development of combat drones. Experts say the innovation around the drones that use fibre-optic cables will have implications beyond the war zone because drone jammers are one of the few tools security agencies can use to bring down rogue or suspicious drones. Jamming devices work by disrupting the radio communication between the drone and the operator, causing the devices to crash or go off course.The fibre-optic cable drone is immune to the jammers, however, because it operates on a wired connection instead of radio signals. In this image released by Ukraine's Ministry of Defence, a fibre optic-tethered drone flies with its cable. (Handou/Ministry of Defence Ukraine)While a Ukrainian blogger first reported that Russia was using fibre-optic drones last year, Ukraine has recently accelerated development with several different domestic manufacturers. Both sides are trying to increase their use of the cable-designed drones because soldiers say jamming devices are often rendering their surveillance and attack drones ineffective.The cable allows the drone to circumvent the jamming systems, and soldiers say it also provides a clear video feed which helps the operator better steer toward a target. Krab, 26, who is from Kharkiv and volunteered for the military at the start of the war, started using the fibre-optic cable drones about a month and a half ago. As CBC News accompanied Krab and another drone operator as they tested a new design. Underneath the drone was a large, cone-shaped container that held a coil of cable. As the drone took off, one end of the it stayed connected to a base station, positioned beside Krab, who wore goggles that projected the video feed from the drone's camera.New models have some limitationsIn combat, there would normally be a grenade or another explosive fixed to the drone, but while CBC was there, the team was only testing it, so nothing besides the cable spool was attached. "We are highly likely to hit targets with this," said Krab. "We can bypass all existing electronic warfare systems."But Krab says the drones do have limitations. They are typically heavier than the wireless ones, and can be less agile and more susceptible to wind. If the drone is flying low through a densely forested area, it could also get tangled with trees. But soldiers and other experts say the clear benefit is that they are only detectable by sound and sight, and the only really effective way to defend against these drones is for them to be shot out of the sky.Krab and Fanta set up a drone that uses a fibre-optic cable ahead of a test flight in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Depending on what kind of munition it is carrying, the drone can travel between 70 and 80 kilometres an hour. (Jason Ho/CBC )On the battlefield, soldiers are using models that can fly up 20 kilometres away. But inside a production facility in the Kharkiv area, Vlad, who only wanted to be identified by his first name for security reasons, has been working to improve the drones' design.Scattered throughout several rooms are rows of batteries, 3D printers and boxes of fibre-optic cables. The drones are being produced here, and made better with the feedback from Ukrainian soldiers using them in the field. "It is a very good technology. I don't understand why we weren't using it one year ago," said Vlad, who previously worked in information technology before being swept up in Ukraine's burgeoning drone industry. He said the drones they are building are one-time use only: They crash into their target and explode. 'There is no putting this genie back in the bottle'Vlad has been working with Troy Smothers, a former U. S. Marine who helped train Ukrainian troops earlier in his career and recently returned to Ukraine to help push the development of fibre-optic cable drones.He helped connect Vlad with the U.S. technology firm and defence contractor L3 Harris, which he says provided a 30-kilometre spool of fibre-optic cable that will be put on a drone and tested in a few weeks. Smothers has also been out with military units launching the drones and Russian positions to get a better idea of how they are actually working in the war zone.While he believes fibre drones may be the new frontier in terms of weaponry, he noted the ramifications of the technology are being discussed. "There is no putting this genie back in the bottle," he told CBC News in Kharkiv. "[Defence companies] are already looking for effective countermeasures to go against fibre."David Hambling, a British journalist who covers drones and other military technology, says because fibre drones cannot be detected like other drones, it could pose a major challenge for countries trying to protect against "nefarious drones being used by terrorists or criminals."The barely visible fibre-optic cable is attached to the drone and coiled in a spool and then unravels during flight. (Jason Ho/CBC )He pointed to an event like the Super Bowl as an example. In 2024, before the game took place in Las Vegas between the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs, concerns arose about rogue drones. A previous game had to be paused after a drone was detected over the stadium. The U.S. secretary for homeland security, along with local law enforcement agencies. declared the Super Bowl a "no-drone" zone and said they had jamming equipment at the ready to detect and intercept any in the area.Drones that are immune to jammers could create a security risk."You cannot have anti-drone machine guns and missiles at the Super Bowl stadium," Hambling said in an email to CBC News.He predicted that instead security agencies and militaries may look into net guns, which try to entrap and bring down the drone. Smothers says while there is currently no efficient way to stop the fibre-optic cable drones, the work is underway. "Warfare always evolves," he said, adding that Ukraine has become a testing ground for drones and military defence.
