Ukraine Develops New Equipment to Counter Drone Threats

Reference News Network, October 9 According to the website of the British magazine "New Scientist" on October 1, Ukraine has developed a new type of defense device that defends against fiber-optic guided attack drones by directly cutting communication links.

Radio frequency interference can intercept most small drones. In response to this defensive measure, drone designers have begun to use fiber optic cables to communicate with drones, replacing radio communication. The fiber optic cable extends as the drone flies farther away.

In 2024, the number of such drones produced by Russia is very small, and each has an effective combat radius of only a few kilometers. However, models with a combat radius of 20 kilometers are now common, and models with 50 kilometers are also starting to appear. The number of these drones has increased significantly, with about 60% of Russia's first-person view (FPV) attack drones now using fiber optic guidance. In some areas, discarded fiber optic cables are scattered all over the ground.

The Ukrainian military has been experimenting with technology to cut sturdy fiber optic cables.

Roy Gardner, a drone expert from the Ukrainian Defense Technology Organization, said: "The most reliable defense against fiber optic FPV drones is a passive barrier system, such as laying protective nets over key roads." Currently, hundreds of kilometers of roads in Ukraine are covered by such protective nets. This is a physical barrier that can capture drones or cause them to explode prematurely.

The "Bush" anti-drone system developed by the Kyiv "Logic" Design Bureau provides another solution. The device's acoustic sensors activate the barrier when they detect the sound of a drone flying overhead. This is an electric barbed wire fence, where the barbed wire circulates like a conveyor belt, equipped with hooks that can snag the fiber optic cable trailing behind the drone and bring it to the cutter for severing.

The "Bush" consists of two segments, each 50 meters long, and two operators can set it up in less than an hour. It is battery-powered, waterproof, and can be remotely turned on or off as needed.

This barrier can be deployed along known drone attack corridors or serve as an outer fence to protect combat positions or facilities.

Gardner said: "Some facilities in the rear that are vulnerable to attack, such as substations that are too large to be completely covered by protective nets, can use this device to effectively defend against long-range fiber optic FPV drones."

Cutting the fiber optic cable usually renders the fiber optic drone inoperative. The developers claim that the "Bush" system has a 95% success rate in cutting the fiber optic cable of drones flying overhead. However, it must be able to detect the drone to function.

Gardner said: "The reliability of the acoustic detection device to accurately identify threats in the noisy battlefield environment still needs to be verified."

According to a report by AFP on October 5, the Ukrainian Air Force announced on the 5th that Ukraine has begun using AI-controlled machine guns to shoot down Russia's new high-speed jet drones.

For months, facing the continuous bombing of the Ukrainian capital by Russia's new drones, Kyiv has been searching for effective interception methods, as ammunition available to shoot down these drones is severely lacking.

Russia's new jet drones fly faster and are harder to intercept than the traditional versions modified from the Iranian "Shahed" drones. Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat stated on national television that as one of the countermeasures, "robotic turrets are currently being installed on bridges."

He stated, "Drones have already been shot down," including the larger, faster, and more powerful "Geranium"-5 drones.

Ihnat told AFP that these turrets use "optical vision and AI technology to eliminate human error factors during strikes."

Serhiy Biskrestnov, a technical advisor to the Ukrainian president, stated on the social platform Telegram that Kyiv has installed 12 such turrets and added that "more will be installed in the future." He described these turrets as multi-barreled machine guns controlled by AI.

Ihnat also acknowledged that the range of this new system is limited, with a combat radius of just over 1 kilometer, "and it can only function effectively under favorable conditions and appropriate attack angles." (Translated by Zhu Li)