Russia makes technological breakthrough in drone management - El País.

According to El País, Russia has begun actively using bomb-dropping drones controlled via fiber optic cable to expand its capabilities in military affairs. This technology allows for avoiding interception of drone communication by electronic warfare systems since fiber optic cables are not subject to radio-frequency interference.

According to the publication, the Ukrainian-Russian border zone became the place where Russia first used these drones. The drone has a spool of cable that can range from 5 to 25 kilometers in length. If the cable gets stuck in obstacles, the drone continues to move as the spool unwinds the cable and maintains communication with the operator.

Russia began experimenting with this technology a year ago, but mass usage started in December of last year. Ukraine also employs similar technologies, but their production development remains gradual compared to Russia. Drones are particularly actively used in the Kursk region, where they played a key role in pushing Ukrainian forces back.

According to Ukrainian military officials, the only way to combat such drones is to protect logistics routes with networks, but this is difficult to achieve over long distances. Furthermore, the cost of such drones is significantly higher due to the use of long fiber optic cables and related equipment.