Ukrainian drone operators say fiber-optic and AI drones are rare but could radically change the fight because of how hard it is to defeat them
Fiber-optic and AI drones have come to prominence as countermeasures to jamming and electronic warfare.
Ukraine's special drone unit Typhoon said it hasn't seen systematic application of these technologies.
But once they become widespread, they'll change drone warfare because they're hard to beat.
Constant intense electronic warfare in Russia's war against Ukraine has led to the rise of drones that are resistant to signal jamming. It's still early days, but these things could be game changers, drone operators say.
These fiber-optic and artificial intelligence-driven drones are not yet being widely used, a special Ukrainian drone unit told Business Insider, but once they become as prolific as some other technologies, they'll completely change how drone warfare is fought.
The war in Ukraine has been defined by the use of uncrewed vehicles, the majority of which rely on radio frequencies to maintain a connection with their operators. In response, both sides have employed electronic warfare capabilities able to jam drones and seize control from the operators or cut video feeds, leaving pilots flying blind.
Operators needed a way around electronic warfare.
Ukraine first documented the Russians using fiber-optic drones last spring. They became more prominent in the fall. These systems are guided by a hardwire cable similar to a US-made anti-tank TOW missile. The cable maintains a connection between the operator and drone, ensuring the system can't be jammed.
At the time, it was unclear if fiber-optic drones would be widely adopted as the next evolution in drone warfare, but it was clear they had promise. Drone experts and top war watchers assessed that they'd have useful applications in some environments and situations but probably weren't a catch-all solution. The cables could get caught or cut, for example, and the systems would have shorter ranges.
The development indicated that both Ukraine and Russia would continue coming up with new solutions.
As of now, Ukraine's special drone unit Typhoon doesn't see a systematic application of fiber-optic drones or systems controlled by AI, another adaptation to electronic warfare that is highly sought after but still experimental.
"However," Typhoon told Business Insider, "if widely adopted, these technologies would fundamentally change drone warfare."
Typhoon is a newer National Guard of Ukraine drone unit. Unveiled last fall, Typhoon consists of engineers and operators specialized in uncrewed systems. Right now, Typhoon operates a diverse range of uncrewed aerial systems, mostly supplied by the National Guard and domestic innovation outfits.
The unit's short-range reconnaissance drones, such as the first-person view DJI Mavic, are used for gathering intelligence, assessing targets, and guiding strikes. Its short-range strike drones are deployed for precision hits on enemy personnel, positions, and equipment, as well as against aerial targets.
Typhoon also operates bomber drones like HeavyShot and Vampire, which are mostly used at night because they're larger in size and easier to spot. Fixed-wing reconnaissance drones and strike drones are also often used for longer-range missions.
But the unit is also actively integrating emerging technologies, such as fiber-optic drones and "machine vision tracking with homing capabilities," which would help improve targeting. Each drone serves a specific purpose in missions, and part of Typhoon's mission is the training of operators for those specific skill sets.
With fiber-optic and AI-driven drones, the challenges for front-line forces will be even greater.
Both of these systems are harder to take down than the regular radio frequency drones because they are invulnerable to electronic warfare. A drone flown by an autonomous terminal guidance system, once locked onto its target, would still maintain its flight path even if it's jammed, effectively making it a fire-and-forget weapon.
Fiber-optic drones are a less-expensive, lower-tech solution, keeping a hard connection so that operators can ignore any electronic warfare and continue to fly the drone towards its target.
Typhoon said the options for destroying fiber-optic drones are relatively limited right now. Because they don't "rely on radio signals that can be detected by conventional electronic warfare systems," the unit said, "the only way to counter them is through timely visual detection and physical destruction."
Simply put, that means they have to see it and shoot it. The Ukrainians have deployed shotguns as a counter-drone tool. But they aren't always easy to detect, which means warfighters may have limited time to react for a kinetic kill.
These systems aren't seeing constant or consistent use just yet, but the Ukrainian forces have praised them for their accuracy and ease of use. Ukrainian and Western drone companies are now racing to churn them out.
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