Ukrainian unit innovates to counter Russian drone threat
A Ukrainian military unit has developed a method to counter Russian FPV drones controlled via a deployable fibre optic cable. Here's what has been developed by Madziar's Birds.
The Ukrainian unit "Madziar's Birds" specialises in the concept of drone warfare and appears to have found a solution to the very dangerous drones controlled via deployable fibre optic cable. The Russians, like the Ukrainians, are using them, and drones commonly known as Vandal are a major problem for Ukrainians even in well-protected Western machines such as the Marder 1A3 or the M1A1 Abrams tanks.
According to the portal The Warzone, the solution developed by Robert Brovdi, who goes by the codename "Madziar," involves mobile radars capable of detecting a drone from several kilometres away, giving the target time to prepare.
Drones in the Ukraine war — a new nightmare for every soldier
Drones in Ukraine have become a symbol of this war, destroying a mass of military equipment using outdated weapons fit for disposal. Examples include PG-7VL grenades or PGN rifle grenades, whose performance is inadequate for penetrating the frontal armour of modern tanks.
Currently, they can only be effective when hitting weak spots, such as the roof or sides, which is very difficult under normal conditions. Drones allow for sufficient precision with relatively low risk to the drone-operating soldier.
Due to the use of radio signals, both sides began to deploy jammers en masse, leading to a frequency war between drone pilots and jammer operators. This caused periods of total dominance by drone operators as well as times of complete powerlessness for them during the war.
Moreover, the use of radio communications allowed the other side to locate enemy drones based on radio emissions or even intercept camera footage using gadgets available in online stores.
Fibre optic-controlled drones — physical destruction is the only solution
This situation led to the search for a solution providing resistance against jammers with a range from a few dozen to a few hundred metres.
The solution turned out to be drones carrying out attacks fully autonomously over distances of several hundred metres using systems that allow for the use of artificial intelligence algorithms for "machine vision" and tracking a selected object or to connect the drone via a wired connection to the control station.
The first option, due to the lack of sanctions, is available to Ukraine, although such drones, which, for example, contain Google Coral developer boards, are expensive. In turn, the second option is simpler and involves using what has been known for years in anti-tank guided missiles, namely the deployable fibre optic cable.
The downside of this solution is the limited range, although it all depends on the size of the deployable spool. The standard is about 10 kilometres, but there are designs with a range of up to 40 kilometres, as Madziar presented in one of the recordings. It should also be noted that the spool with the fibre optic cable takes up part of the payload that could be used for a heavier warhead or a larger battery.
A drone controlled in this manner cannot be jammed and, more importantly, it is completely passive, making radio emission detectors useless. Moreover, such drones can fly low over the ground without fear of losing the signal and it is much harder to locate the pilots' hideout. All this makes fibre optic drones very dangerous and essentially, the only form of defence against them is their physical elimination.
Solving the problem — a network of radars, hunter drone squadrons plus anti-drone systems
Madziar has developed a portable radar likely optimised to operate in the Ku-band, as is the case with current anti-drone radars capable of detecting slow-moving objects over several kilometres. The only solution is to cover the front line with radars every 5 kilometres and synchronise their operators with drone pilots responding to threats.
Madziar released footage of a detected Russian drone being shot down by his own FPV drone, but a hunter drone like the Winchester would be more suitable here. Additionally, it would be good to have vehicles equipped with programmable ammunition, usually of 30mm calibre, to protect tanks during attacks, a focus for many NATO countries.
Ukrainians do not have such capabilities and must cope with what they have, though there are instances of drones being shot down by combat vehicles like the M2A2 Bradley. Alternatively, the last line of defence is soldiers in trenches equipped with less frequently weapons with Smart Shooter's SMASH modules or much more commonly with standard 12-gauge shotguns used in, among other things, skeet shooting.
