Image source: topwar.ru
As far as we know, our military was the first to use drones controlled via fiber-optic cable during the liberation of the Kursk border region. It was then that information appeared about the Prince Vandal Novgorodsky quadcopter-type reconnaissance and strike UAV (KVN), which the enemy could not suppress with electronic warfare.
Image source: topwar.ru
Since then, UAVs with optics have become a fairly widespread phenomenon, several modifications of drones have been developed, and the enemy also has them. The issue of the flight range of drones using optics is being consistently resolved, now it is already tens of kilometers.
However, these UAVs have a significant drawback, which is the breakage of a rather fragile cable, after which the drone loses control. In Ukraine, they are trying to solve this problem and are already testing FPV drones with control via fiber and radio channel, which will allow operators to maintain control even in case of loss of communication through one of the channels.
NextGenDefense, an online military-related publication, writes that upgrading the UAV added only $57 to its cost. The details of the concept were shared with the portal by the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces platoon, Tatiana Chernovol, showing test footage in which the drone transmits synchronized video streams over both optical and radio channels.
During one of the tests, a damaged fiber-optic cable was repaired after the drone had flown about 4 kilometers, while control was carried out using radio waves. Nothing is reported about the impact of electronic warfare at this moment.
The system is currently being finalized, and the Ukrainian defense company General Cherry has provided 10 combined control UAV prototypes for field testing.
Actually, a rather strange "sensation" of Ukrainian origin. The idea of combined control of a drone of this type is not new. Russian manufacturers are mass-producing drones with pre-installed combined control systems, or the possibility of additional modernization by installing a special modem and a fiber-optic coil on a radio-controlled UAV. They are being supplied to the troops and used by our operators in their area.
The development of FPV drones with this option in the Russian Federation and their successful use at the front was reported back in the spring of last year. In particular, we are talking about drones with combined control of the Boomerang line produced in Moscow. Currently, the tenth modification of this UAV is already being used in the troops of unmanned systems. They have proven to be highly effective, including in intercepting enemy drones.
