Fiber Optic Drones: Posing a Significant C-UAS Challenge

Fiber Optic Drones: Posing a Significant C-UAS Challenge
By Alex Braszko, Center for Army Lessons Learned | August 12, 2025

Given the rapid pace of technological advancements on today’s battlefield (particularly in AI) understanding the capabilities of adaptive technologies and unmanned systems is imperative, especially for Soldiers. These systems have demonstrated exceptional effectiveness on the battlefield, including lethal effects on troops. While the U.S. Army is not currently engaged in combat, it is exploring human-machine integration (HMI) and all Soldiers have an obligation to stay technically and tactically proficient in understanding the very real unmanned threats they will likely face. That includes understanding technological and operational nuances of drones. One notable development Soldiers should pay attention to comes in the form of fiber optic spoolfed drones.

On the front cover of the 26 March 2025 issue of the Stars and Stripes, LTG Joseph Ryan discusses how far the U.S. Army lags other militaries adjusting to fiber optic drones.1 Meanwhile, any Soldier paying attention to technological advances in warfare in Ukraine over the past three years undoubtedly notices a cat and mouse game of drone versus counter-drone scenarios being played out on the battlefield. As one side develops a new drone capability giving it tactical advantage for a short period of time, inevitably the other side develops a counter technology to offset that advantage.

 Figure 1. 26 March 2025 issue of Stars and Stripes LTG Joseph Ryan https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2025-03-26/army-fiber-optic-drones17264379.html

One of the more recent instances where a developed innovation continues to evade counter technology and enjoy relatively unrestricted access on the battlefield, despite the adversary’s best efforts to defeat it, is fiber optic spool-fed drones. These drones use a thin lightweight fiber optic cable that is unwound from a spool as it flies along to communicate with an operator. Utilization of a fiber optic cable makes it extremely difficult to detect and target such drones with some counter-unmanned aircraft systems (c-UAS). In this publication, we will dive into the concept of fiber optic spool-fed drones and how they work, consider their benefits, weigh their shortcomings, address potential applications for their employment, and reveal a few of the recent developments in successfully trying to counter them.