New jam-proof drones are being used in the Ukrainian war. We tell you how they work and how they could be used in the future.
The Russians are using a new type of drone against the Ukrainians within the framework of the Kursk offensive which they claim renders “electronic warfare systems impotent.”
Andrei Nikitin, governor of Russia’s Novgorod region,declared on his Telegram channel earlier this month that fiber optic drones called Prince Vandal of Nóvgorod (KVN) are being used on a large scale in the operation against the Ukrainians.
According to James Patton Rogers, executive director of the Cornell Brooks Tech Policy Institute at Cornell University, These modified first-person view (FPV) drones deploy a superlight fiber optic cable behind them as they fly, making them “nearly undetectable” for the other side’s intelligence teams.
This comes as the drone war between both sides intensifies. Earlier this week, the Russians they launched more than 100 drones in several regions of Ukraine in an attack on the country’s energy systems.
For their part, the Ukrainians released last night what has been described as one of their biggest drone attacks over Moscow, as troops continue to advance through the Russian line in the ongoing Kursk offensive.
How do these drones work?
A Ukrainian military blogger, Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, found one of the Russian fiber optic drones on the front lines in March.
Lo described on Telegram as a first-person view (FPV) drone with a strange plastic on top that contained a 10.8 km coil of fiber optic cable inside.
The fiber optic cable is in the place where a transceiver is normally located, that receives and transmits radio signalson other FPV drones.
Noah Sylvia, an emerging technology research analyst at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in the United Kingdom, says: Flying a drone without this transmitter means that it does not emit any radio signals that can track the location of the drone or your operator.
Experts can identify that the Russians use fiber optics because, unlike normal FPV drones, the cables provide the operator high-quality video that is not lost when there is interferenceexplains Sylvia. However, this technology can have some drawbacks.
Unlike FPV drones, which are lightweight and limited by the weight they can carry, new drones will need more batteries or more powerful motors to compensate for the weight of the fiber optic cableexplains Sylvia, which could make its manufacturing much more expensive.
There is also the rRisk of extra weight slowing down these drones and limit their range compared to unmanned ones, explains Rogers.
FPV drones “can go fast, they can make sharp angles and be very maneuverable and come in at angles that the enemy is not anticipating,” Sylvia said. “Cable limits it to some extent.”
Why does Russia use them?
On August 6, the Ukrainians launched a surprise offensive in the region rusa of kursk. The ongoing mission led the Ukrainians to advance up to 35 km on the Russian line, control more than 90 settlements and capture hundreds of soldiersaccording to the newspaper ‘Kyiv Independent’.
Part of the Ukrainians’ initial success during the offensive was the use of different types of electronic warfare that disabled Russian surveillance, Sylvia explained, allowing them to move deeper into Russian territory. One way the Russians have to counteract this is deploying fiber optic drones en masseSylvia continued.
ADVERTISING‘Euronews Next’ contacted the Ukrainian military to find out if they use a similar fiber optic drone in their fleetbut did not receive a response at the time of going to press.
HIGHCAT, a German drone manufacturer, stated a Forbes this month I had developed a Similar drone, called HCX, thinking about the events in Ukraineand that he was going to do a demonstration in that country.
The description of the drone on the HIGHCAT website states that the HCX is “suitable for missions in highly congested areas”, for which fiberglass reels are attached to the drone. Once this is done, the drone can “fly undetected” because it does not emit any radio signal.
If the tests are successful, HIGHCAT declaredForbes that could start producing up to 3,000 drones per month starting in November.
ADVERTISINGA complement to robust drone fleets
Both sides have small, medium and large drones in their arsenal, Sylvia explained. Large drones, which fly up to 3,048 km (10,000 feet) and more, they are used for surveillance, GPS jamming and capturing signals from the enemy to locate them.
Medium-sized drones that go up to 600 km are used to “scan enemy terrain” or coordinate artillery fire, he explained.
The smallest droneslike FPVs, are considered “kamikaze drones” because they fly directly towards an enemy target, Sylvia continued.
Rogers said both militaries will be watching to see how these drones perform on the battlefield because if provide a “stealth-type tactical advantage for Russia”then both sides will start using them more often.
ADVERTISINGEven then, Sylvia believes fiber-optic drones won’t revolutionize the way war is fought, because drones are modifying a type of technology used in other weapons, such as tube-launched, optically tracked tank missiles. and guided by wire (TOW) of the United States, which are part of the arsenal Ukrainian.**
Instead, these drones will most likely be used “as a complement” to the already robust drone fleets from both sides, he stated. It’s too early to know what the countermeasure against them will be, Sylvia continued, but she could see them “being shot down with bullets or missiles or other drones.”
“People are very resourceful in times of war, and I guarantee you that There will be a countermeasure for this, if there isn’t already“he stated.
Right now, Rogers says it’s difficult to discern who has the upper hand in the drone war, as it’s a “cat and mouse game” in which each side tries to counteract the other’s latest innovation.
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