Ukrainian forces find way to stop Russia's fiber-optic FPV drones
Ukrainian soldier with a drone on a fiber optic cable (photo: Getty Images)
Ukrainian soldiers are coming up with new ways to combat Russia's fiber-optic drones. These drones are difficult to jam with electronic warfare systems, so the main method of defense is their physical destruction, according to the article by RBC-Ukraine.
For instance, Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces have developed a training program for shooters, particularly taught to eliminate FPV drones.
In the Kharkiv direction, soldiers are using simple but effective methods.
"When a drone hovers low over the road, we cover the route with nets or wire to entangle it. Sometimes we just wait in ambush and shoot it with buckshot or shotguns," soldiers told RBC-Ukraine.
Some units patrol the routes used by equipment convoys to spot drones in time.
One of the most effective methods is cutting the fiber-optic cable after the drone flies over a position. For this, scissors or any sharp tool are sufficient.
The company 3DTech confirms that although cutting the cable is one of the simplest methods, it is not easy to execute on the battlefield. Therefore, new technologies are being developed in parallel.
In particular, they are working on interceptor drones and automated turrets to destroy enemy drones in the air.
Instructor Dmytro Sledyiuk believes the future of these drones depends directly on the development of specialized weapons against them. If such weapons are created, fiber-optic drones will quickly disappear from the battlefield. If not, the technology will remain in use for a long time.
In addition, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to stop the enemy at the production stage. In the spring of 2025, Ukrainian forces struck several factories in Russia, including the Optic-Fiber Systems plant in Saransk - the only major enterprise in Russia producing fiber-optic cable for military purposes.
Fires broke out at the facility after the attacks, and production was temporarily halted.
Also in Saransk, the Saranskkabel-Optika plant was hit, and in the Rostov region - the Azov Optical-Mechanical Plant, which makes optical components for armored vehicles and drones.
New stage in fight against drones
On July 10 in Rome, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that Ukraine had developed and successfully tested interceptor drones capable of shooting down Shahed UAVs. According to Zelenskyy, Ukraine's industry is ready for mass production, but funding is needed.
Meanwhile, Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov stated that Ukrainian manufacturers are working on technologies to counter Russian jet-powered drones.
