Vyriy Founder Compares Accuracy of Ukrainian and Russian Fiber Optic Drones

According to estimates, Ukrainian fiber-optic drones have a significantly shorter flight range to targets compared to their Russian counterparts.

Oleksii Babenko, VYRIY’s founder and CEO, shared this information with Militarnyi.

He stated that the statistics for Ukrainian fiber-optic drones reaching the targets at distances of up to 15 km are approximately 10–30%, depending on the unit and drone manufacturer. When using spools for 10 km, the statistics are slightly better, up to 50%.

Meanwhile, in Russian units, according to intercepted Ukrainian military radio communications, this figure reaches 80% for flights at distances of up to 20 km. However, 20% of failed operations are most likely attributed not to technical issues, but to pilot errors.

According to him, the difference lies in the different approaches to creating signal transmitters for fiber optics. Ukrainian companies mostly use a system where a single circuit from China takes analog video, converts it into a digital signal, and transmits it further. It receives remote control signals, converts them into digital packets that are understood by the flight controller, and sends them to the drone.

For signal transmission, radiation with a wavelength of 1550 nanometers is used for video, and 1310 nanometers for control. However, at 1310 nanometers, the attenuation in fiber optics per kilometer is three times higher than at 1550. As a result, the drone loses the control signal.

Meanwhile, Russian drones use a wavelength range of 1490–1550 nanometers, where the attenuation is two and a half times lower. Additionally, their signal transmitter has twice the power. Instead of analog cameras, as used on Ukrainian drones, the Russians use digital IP cameras, the same as those used in surveillance cameras, along with a media converter and software developed based on the open-source code OpenIPC.

However, according to Babenko, this solution is more expensive than what is used in Ukrainian drones, which is why it is not popular among manufacturers aiming to maximize their profit margin.

“But when we are told about the high cost, the people selling spools with a markup of x3, if the price increases by UAH 2000, what will they do? They won’t change the price because it’s already x3 above the cost price. The high cost of fiber optics isn’t because of some nanotechnologies, but because the people selling it don’t always… Well, they mostly commercialize what they make,” he said.

Another factor affecting effectiveness is the thickness of the fiber optic cable. The thicker the fiber, the harder it is to break or bend during flight. Therefore, the thickness can be increased, but this also increases the weight, cost, and size of the drone. Ukrainian manufacturers typically use thin fibers with a diameter of 0.25 mm, whereas Russians have adopted the use of both thin and thick fibers.

“And as a result, their drones end up being more expensive to produce than those made by Ukrainian fiber optic companies. In terms of sales price, they’re about the same. This is a question for the Ukrainian companies themselves. In terms of quality, well, like 10% vs. 80%. It’s not even comparable,” Oleksii Babenko sums up.

For more details, watch the stream with Oleksii Babenko on our YouTube channel.

In December 2024, Vyriy Drone assembled the first sample of an FPV copter using components made exclusively in Ukraine.