Ukraine created a drone “completely invisible” to the Russians

Ukraine will soon pilot drones with cables several kilometers long. The country also wants to become less dependent on Chinese components.

Thomas Wanhoff / t-online

The war in Ukraine is largely being fought with drones. They are used for reconnaissance, can overload air defenses during swarm attacks or destroy tanks in kamikaze mode. To counter them, jammers are used to disrupt the piloting. Today, the Ukrainian army is exploring a new path to secure the piloting of these devices.

Drones today emit electronic signals, for example when they communicate a position or send live filmed images to their pilot. These are the signals that can be intercepted and jammed. To counter this, the Ukrainian army has just presented a new solution, reports the Kyiv Post: a fiber optic cable that allows the drone to receive light signals rather than electronic ones.

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“This drone is completely invisible in the radio spectrum. No system can locate its launch location or operator,” said Anton Mogolivets, the chief engineer of the company in charge of producing this system. According to him, this new technology has successfully passed the first tests and is expected to be used by the Ukrainian armed forces from 2025.

How does it work?

How does it work? A 20 kilometer long cable is attached to the drone. The drone itself can stay in the air for around 20 minutes and carry up to 5.5 kilograms of payload. The first tests have already made it possible to extend the flight duration to 46 minutes.

Pilots can control them via a screen which transmits the image from a camera perched on the device. They can be used to attack Russian positions and jammers as well as military vehicles. Their mission? Eliminate the first obstacles and pave the way for traditional drones.

What is Russia doing?

Russia already uses similar drones, partly Chinese-made. These would cost around $2500, cable is $1000. According to the Kyiv Postthe Ukrainian drone solution would be about half as expensive. Even though Ukraine can now produce up to 40% of drone components itself, it too is dependent on parts that largely come from China.

And that could soon become a problem. Indeed, as reported by the press agency Bloomberg On Wednesday, Chinese manufacturers already began reducing deliveries of drone components to Europe and the United States.

In the background, we must read the possible trade war – announced by the future President of the United States, Donald Trump – to come between Americans and Chinese. Restrictions would already be in place for motors, batteries and control modules. At the same time, China is delivering drone components to Russia.

What is Europe doing?

For its part, the EU decided on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on more than 30 additional actors that the EU says have links to or support Russia’s defense and security sector. another way. Among them, there would again be companies based in China, which for example participate in the manufacture of drones for the Russian invasion in Ukraine.

If China were also to reduce its exports to Europe and the United States for this reason, Ukraine would have to turn to other countries — which would take much longer, not least because it would be necessary to put in place new supply routes. It is also questionable whether prices would not increase in this case.

Repatriated production

According to Ukrainian reports, imported Chinese drones are often equipped with defective parts. Until now, these cheap parts were mainly replaced. Faced with new Chinese threats, the drone industry in Ukraine is increasingly outsourcing the production of complex components to its own soil, reports the Kyiv Independent. “We cannot rely on a Chinese supply chain,” says Denys Nikolayenko, who makes high-quality thermal cameras for drones in an office in kyiv.

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Translated and adapted by Noëline Flippe

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