First Vice Prime Minister — Minister of Digital Transformation Mykhailo Fedorov reported that Ukrainian manufacturers of fiber-optic drones have created FPV drones with a range of over 40 km.
“Three months ago, we tested fiber-optic drones with a range of up to 20 km. Today, these are solutions capable of striking enemy targets at a distance of more than 40 km,” Fedorov said.
He added that this is the result of feedback from the military, unique solutions from developers, and support from Brave1.
In April, the defense technology cluster Brave1 conducted large-scale testing of fiber-optic FPV drones: more than 15 UAV manufacturers tested their products at a training ground, overcoming a route longer than 20 km with obstacles and simulating target approaches. It was noted then that previously the range of Ukrainian fiber-optic drones was 5-10 km.
In May, the company 3DTech became the first Ukrainian developer to complete the codification procedure for the 'Khizhak REBOFF' line of fiber-optic unmanned aerial systems at the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The company produces a lineup of five fiber-optic models that are already supplied to combat brigades; they have fiber-optic reels ranging from 10 to 20 km in length.
According to Mykhailo Fedorov, striking at depths of over 40 km will become the new norm for fiber-optic drones.
