FIBRE optic drones are the future of unmanned war-fare, troops from Ukraine’s first dedicated regiment have told The Sun.
The kamikaze drones, which use cables instead of radio signals to guide their flight, are immune to Russian jamming systems because they stay tethered to their pilots by miles of fibre optic thread.
The Sych, launched from a catapult, can fly up to 60 miles with two 2kg bombs on its wingsPeter Jordan
Peter JordanThe Sych, seen here being recovered after a training flight, flies at 600ft at speeds of up to 40mph, but swoops to roughly half that height before it releases its bombs[/caption]
Peter JordanThe almost toy-like drone can carry a deadly payload – and escape Russian jamming systems[/caption]
The best Ukrainian models have a range of more than 12 miles, spooling out wire like kites as they race towards their targets.
And because the 4K video they use relays images so fast and in such high quality, pilots can fly lower to the ground, swerving obstacles at speed, and navigate inside buildings.
The Sun joined Ukraine’s 411th Separate Regiment of Unmanned Systems as they carried out drone training with their UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles).
Senior Lieutenant Ivan, 41, from the regiment said of the fibre drones: “They are really cool weapons.
“You can fly very low to the ground and enter buildings to hunt Russians because the picture is always so clear.”
But Ukraine does not have enough of them.
He added: “I would have ten a day if I could but at the moment we get ten a month.
“It is only a question of money.”
We watch as the troops practise with a Sych fixed-wing bomber, a radio-controlled drone that can fly up to 60 miles with two 2kg bombs on its wings.
The Sych, which means Owl, is launched from a catapult, so it does not need a runway.
It flies at 600ft at speeds of up to 40mph, but swoops to roughly half that height before it releases its bombs on a target.
Denys, the Sych team commander, says that in 2024 they hit more than 100 targets and only lost two drones — both shot down from the ground.
Their targets included Russian radar stations, which they knocked out to pave the way for bigger attacks into Russia.
While Ukraine was the first to deploy the new wire-guided drones, enemy troops were quick to catch on.
Now, Lt Ivan says, the Russian industry is supplying them much more quickly than Kyiv can.
Ivan’s specialist drone squads rely on hundreds of thousands of homegrown Ukrainian UAVs to hold Putin’s invaders at bay.
Dogfights in sky
The country produced more than a million drones in 2024, ranging from deep-strike weapons worth hundreds of thousands of pounds to £300 kamikaze models, which troops burn through like bullets.
The longest-range weapons have hit dozens of oil refineries and ammunition dumps.
The smaller weapons are used to hit targets such as motorbikes, armoured vehicles and trench lines.
Britain yesterday signed a deal worth £30million to buy Ukraine cutting-edge Altius drones from Anglo-American firm Anduril.
Defence Secretary John Healey said drones had been, “vital in disrupting Russian troop advances and targeting positions behind the frontline”.
He announced the deal in Washington, where he was due to meet US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth to persuade him to switch the military aid taps back on for Ukraine.
The cash will buy Altius 600m and Altius 700m loitering munitions to help Ukraine defend the Black Sea.
The weapons are designed to lurk over a target and swoop on anything hostile that enters the area.
But which drones do Ukraine need most?
Lt Ivan said: “No one drone is the best.
“They are all so specialised.
“It is like motorbikes.
“There are sports bikes, road bikes, dirt bikes and tourers.
“Sometimes you just need a scooter.
“They are all different.”
His squads use standard FPV, or First-Person View, drones for attacking infantry, artillery and armour.
Drones have even been used to destroy other drones in extraordinary dogfights in the sky.
Ivan added: “Our anti-aircraft drone has a bigger battery for longer flights and digital video, not analogue, because you need very high-resolution video to recognise a dot.
“To find a plane in the sky is very difficult.”
The fibre optic drones are bigger and slower than normal FPVs, and about five times more expensive.
Vampire killers
His teams also use “multi-rotor bombers” such as the Vampire, which can carry a payload of five or six mortar bombs around five miles.
They use similar drones to drop land mines.
And they have also used drones to supply ammunition, food and batteries to isolated outposts.
Junior Sergeant Oleksii, who was a photographer in civilian life, says the biggest change over the past three years of the war has been the level of drone saturation — and the increased range of surveillance.
He said: “At the start of the war we flew our drones from infantry positions and carried out surveillance on enemy infantry positions.
“At the start we couldn’t see their logistics or armoured vehicles.
“Then our range started to grow, and we gained surveillance of all these deeper echelons.
“Now we can see and control their infantry movement.
“We can surveil their logistics to infantry positions.
“Now we have started working with drones to attack other drones.
“Drones with radars, drones with relays.
“And our reconnaissance and strike drones that allow us to work at 40km depth.”
Being a drone operator is now one of the most sought-after jobs in the Ukrainian army.
That is partly because it is seen as less dangerous than being in the infantry.
And partly, according to Ivan, because they get to see the impact of their work.
He said: “We destroy far more enemy targets than the infantry, but without infantry we are not able to work — because the infantry hold the line.”
Peter JordanWork as a drone operator is a highly sought-after role in the Ukrainian army, as it is less dangerous than infantry and offers visible results[/caption]
The water bottles the drone drops in this training exercise will soon be replaced with a far more deadly payloadPeter Jordan
APA Ukrainian made FPV fiber-optic drone flies at a military market place at an undisclosed location in the Kyiv region[/caption]
Peter JordanSun Defence Editor Jerome Starkey checks out a drone at a secret location[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
