The U.S. Navy led an exercise featuring a first-person view (FPV) quadcopter controlled via fiber-optic links, focusing on exploring new distributed electronic warfare capabilities. Russia first deployed fiber-optic FPV suicide drones in Ukraine last year, and they have now become standard equipment on both sides of the conflict. These aircraft are highly resistant to jamming and many other forms of electronic warfare.
Fiber-optic control offers additional advantages, including more reliable and secure links, higher speed, lower latency (critical for FPV operations), and resistance to cyber intrusions. Hardwired links help mitigate terrain interference with radio control, which is also important for operating drones indoors. Fiber-optic drones do not emit RF signals detectable by passive sensors, making them harder to locate. However, this control method has downsides, such as cables potentially getting tangled or cut by obstacles. Naturally, drones are not invulnerable and could be targeted by directed energy weapons such as lasers or microwaves.
The Michigan National Guard released photos of fiber-optic FPV and other unmanned systems participating in the “Silent Swarm 25” exercise. The exercise took place this July at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Alpena, Michigan. Since 2022, the U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) has collaborated annually with the Michigan National Guard and other U.S. military units at Alpena CRTC for the “Silent Swarm” exercises.
The Michigan National Guard stated in a press release: “In a series of technical trials, private companies, academic institutions, and military organizations used numerous unmanned systems to ‘attack’ and ‘defend’ multiple locations along the Sand Bay shoreline of Lake Huron in Alpena.” “During operations by two opposing forces, data was collected on which technologies provided the greatest advantage.”
Rob Gamberg, project lead for NSWC Crane’s “Silent Swarm” initiative, said in a statement: “The idea behind ‘Silent Swarm’ is to identify systems that can succeed and have an impact in the most challenging environments. We learn from each iteration, which is exactly what we hope to see.”
It is unclear how many fiber-optic FPVs participated in “Silent Swarm 25” or whether they acted as “attackers,” “defenders,” or both. However, including them in the exercise makes sense. As mentioned, Russia first used this type of FPV control last year to counter increasing electronic warfare threats. For the same reasons, Ukrainian forces have adopted fiber-optic FPVs. Since then, fiber optics have also been used to control small unmanned ground vehicles. In Ukraine, the use of fiber-optic FPVs has become widespread, with even birds using fiber to build their nests.
(Ukrainian soldiers discovered a bird nest partially built from fiber-optic cables)