A drone with an attached bomb hit the Fiber Optic Engineering Center during an attack on March 5, 2025, in the city of Saransk.

Cyber community CyberBoroshno identified the enterprise and the building targeted by the drone.

The attacked enterprise is part of the optical fiber cable production complex. The Russian side actively uses the cables for military purposes, primarily in FPV drones.

The building is located at coordinates 54.223313, 45.159403, and most of its premises are used to produce optical fiber cables, covering an area of approximately 2,488 square meters.

A smaller part of the building, 176 square meters, is used to produce instruments. Next to it is a training center covering 169 square meters.

Photos showing the aftermath of the strike have also been published online, depicting significant damage to the building and a fire that broke out as a result of the attack. However, the exact extent of the damage is currently unknown.

According to a published presentation on the enterprise’s activities, the products manufactured, in addition to a wide range of civilian applications, are also used in the defense industry—specifically for the production of radiation- and heat-resistant gyroscopes for navigation systems, radio-photonic radar stations, hydrophones, and more.

The company’s products are also used in machine engineering, the aerospace industry, space-based systems, telecommunications, medical equipment, scientific research, oil and gas, nuclear industries, engineering, and construction, as well as railway transport.

A temporary shutdown of the enterprise or, at best, damage to expensive equipment could reduce the production of optical fiber cables or even to a complete halt of production.

Nevertheless, without additional strikes, the enterprise can be restored, and the sanctioned products, although not in the shortest time, can still be acquired through third parties.

On April 5, 2025, at approximately 2:20 a.m. local time, strike drones attacked Russia’s only manufacturer of fiber optic cables.

Strike drones attacked Russia’s only manufacturer of fiber-optic cables, which are also used in FPV drones.