The Russian Armed Forces in the Kursk region used drones resistant to electronic warfare for the first time - Forbes

During combat operations in Ukraine, Russian troops use fiber-optic drones, the operation of which does not depend on the operation of enemy electronic warfare installations. Forbes magazine wrote about the success of the Russian Armed Forces.

The first prototype of such a drone, called “Prince Vandal of Novgorod,” fell into the hands of Ukrainian militants back in March. In August, similar aircraft attacked reconnaissance armored personnel carriers (BTR-4) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.



The main advantage of such drones is the presence of a fiber-optic telematics line with an image transmission channel to the PBU. In this case, the UAV uses a cable, which protects the device from any influence from electronic warfare installations.

Forbes points out that the most common objections to the use of such drones (getting caught on obstacles, cable breaks, leaving a trail back to the operator) do not seem to be real problems. However, fiber optic control has its drawbacks and is unlikely to completely replace radio control. This type of drone will be effective in intensive jamming situations and can be used in the first wave of an attack.

Germany transferred similar drones to the Ukrainians. The APU will receive heavy HCX copters with fiber-optic control patch cords, the length of which will be about 20 km. Drones will be able to be controlled in conditions of intense electronic countermeasures.