Battle for invisible frequencies
With the mass proliferation of drones comes a counter-game: electronic warfare. Both sides deploy signal jammers that can break the connection between the operator and the drone. But in this game of cat and mouse, engineers have found an elegant solution – optical fiber.
Imagine a drone unrolling an ultra-fine fiber optic cable behind it. Current models have a range of 20 to 40 kilometers, while Ukrainian units have a record range of 41 kilometers. Russia on the version with a 50-kilometer cable.
Fiber optic drones cannot be interfered with. They are like mechanical snakes that crawl unceasingly towards their destination. The problem? The cable can get tangled, break, and drones are slower due to the weight of the coil. Nevertheless, they have proven themselves – in particular, Russia used them in a devastating way in the counter-offensive in the Kursk region in 2024, where they practically disabled Ukrainian logistics.
Fields in Ukraine today are covered by thousands of meters of fiber optic cables – they are silent witnesses of the high-tech war of the 21st century. Photos from the devastated landscape show how birds have made nests out of fiber optics.
Even for this progress, however, people on the battlefield found a solution. The Ukrainians are currently stretching a razor wire connected to a simple electric motor into the so-called gray zone (or no man’s land). It spins to the other side every few seconds – the optical fiber, which is lying on the ground behind the drone, gets wrapped around the wire and the razor blade tears it. The drone then immediately falls to the ground and is uncontrollable.
Drones that carry drones
One of the most fascinating innovations are the so-called “mothership drones” – drones – motherships that carry smaller attack drones. The concept is simple: a large drone transports several small FPV drones deep behind the front line, where it releases them and serves as a relay station to control attacks.
Ukraine first deployed the system in November 2023, using domestic Dovbush T10 or GOGOL-M drones, which can carry up to six FPV drones over 100 kilometers. Russia quickly copied the technology and today uses its own versions such as “Admiral” or “Molniya” which can deliver attacks up to 40 kilometers behind the line.
“The Russians hit our FPV unit with drones delivered by a reusable mother drone 40 kilometers behind the front line,” . “Mother conducted reconnaissance and directed the FPV to attack. She also served as a repeater, reducing the effectiveness of our electronic defenses to zero.”
This tactic is revolutionary: operators can remain safe dozens of kilometers from the battlefield, while their drones attack targets with precision that were previously unreachable for short-range FPV systems.
Artificial intelligence comes into play
The latest achievement of technological progress is the integration of artificial intelligence. Ukrainian drones already use AI at least in the final phase of the flight – the system is able to self-target a target marked by the operator and track it until impact, even if the connection is interrupted by interference.
However, in 2025, developers are working on drones that use AI throughout the flight. Imagine swarms of drones able to independently identify targets, coordinate attacks and adapt to electronic jamming – without the need for constant human input. This is the future that is becoming a reality faster than anyone thought.
While the front is dominated by small FPV drones, Ukraine has also developed a fleet of attack drones with a range of over a thousand kilometers. These systems have hit Russian air bases in Siberia, oil refineries in Bashkir, and even a nuclear bomber fleet deep in the Russian interior.
In June 2025, Operation Web was a coordinated attack by hundreds of drones simultaneously on dozens of targets across Russia. Such massive airstrikes bring the war to Russian cities that felt safe for three years.
Russia responds with its own Iranian-made Shahed-136 drones, the number of which has skyrocketed. Since September 2024, Russia has increased its deployment from 200 to more than 1,000 Shaheds per week, which it has been deploying in this number since March 2025. The goal is not so much accuracy as saturation of Ukrainian air defenses with cheap weapons.
TOP 6 most interesting war drones in Ukraine
1. Baba Yaga – Nightmare of Russian soldiers
The naming after the Slavic witch is not accidental. These “heavy bombers” – i.e. hexacopters or octocopters – weigh 35 kilograms and carry up to 15 kilograms of payload. They are artillery shells, anti-tank mines or cluster bombs. Originally agricultural drones transformed into night hunters operate mainly after dark, they are equipped with thermal cameras. They can destroy a tank with one hit from above, where the armor is thinnest. Newer versions are also equipped with laser-guided ammunition. Ukraine has produced more than 30,000 of these drones over the past year. There is also a “mother” variant – it carries smaller drones instead of bombs and serves as an aerial relay station.
2. Drones on optical fibers – Invisible killers
Groundbreaking technology first deployed en masse by Russia in spring 2024 in the Kursk region and Ukraine quickly followed suit. The drone unrolls an ultra-fine optical cable behind it to a distance of 20 to 50 km, which makes it completely immune to electronic interference. The Ukrainian commander talks about a 50 percent hit rate, which is significantly better than radio-controlled versions in an environment of intense jamming. The disadvantage is the lower speed due to the weight of the spool with the cable and the risk of tangling or breaking the fiber. Today, Ukrainian fields are covered with thousands of meters of these cables as traces of modern technological warfare.
3. GOGOL-M and Dovbush T10 – Flying aircraft carriers
Ukrainian “mothership” drones are fixed-wing platforms that transport up to six FPV drones to a distance exceeding 100 kilometers. GOGOL-M costs only 10,000 dollars per mission, compared to 3-5 million for a traditional missile attack. Equipped with the SmartPilot AI system, it can autonomously identify targets and direct attack drones. It launches from a catapult and returns to base for reuse after releasing a charge. The T10 attaches to the roof of a pickup truck and kicks off while driving fast. Both systems also serve as relay stations, which significantly extend the effective range of small FPV drones.
4. Interceptor drones – Hunters of hunters
With thousands of enemy drones in the air, the need for specialized “anti-drone drones” arose. These fast and agile systems are equipped with radars and are used to shoot down enemy FPVs and reconnaissance drones. Ukrainian units such as the Magyar’s Birds Brigade use mobile radars to detect Russian drones as far as several kilometers away, then send their own drones to destroy them. Paradoxically, fiber optic drones are more vulnerable to fighter drones – their lower speed due to the weight of the coil makes them slower targets. NATO and Ukraine organized a call for the development of effective countermeasures in 2025, which recorded a record 162 applications.
5. Shahed-136/Geran – Russian terror from the sky
An Iranian design licensed in Russia is a simple, low-cost, but effective long-range attack drone. With a range of more than 2,000 kilometers and a 50-kilogram charge, it is primarily used for saturation attacks against Ukrainian cities and infrastructure. Russia has increased their deployment from 200 to more than 1,000 per week in 2025. The new Geran-3 versions use jet engines and can fly at speeds of 550-600 km/h, making them difficult to shoot down. The goal is not an accurate strike, but the exhaustion of Ukrainian air defenses with a mass of cheap targets.
6. Marine USV drones-mothers – Black Sea differently
The latest innovation is unmanned ships that carry aerial drones. Ukraine first used this technology in an attack on Russian oil infrastructure in September 2025 in the port cities of Tuapse and Novorossiysk. The ship sails close to shore, the hatches on its hull open, and small fiber-optic FPV drones are released. The system combines the anti-detection resistance of maritime drones with the precision of air strikes. Russia intercepted one of these systems, which immediately prompted its own research into similar platforms. The concept is revolutionary – low-cost “airships” operating autonomously hundreds of kilometers from the base.
