Russian forces are using fiber-optic FPV drones to execute a new “hunting” tactic, landing drones up to 10 kilometers away to ambush targets, a strategy Ukraine struggles to counter, MP and secretary of the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense, and Intelligence, Roman Kostenko, told Radio NV on April 17.
“The enemy is using fiber-optic drones more extensively than we are,” Kostenko said.
“They call it ‘hunting,’ where these drones can fly 10 kilometers, land, and wait for a target. When a truck or group of soldiers passes, they lift off and strike.”
Unlike standard FPV drones, which must hit a target at the end of a one-way flight, fiber-optic drones “guarantee strikes because they can wai outt,” he explained.
“This is a problem. It’s very hard to defend against them, and Russia, unfortunately, is ahead of us,” Kostenko added.
On April 5, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukrainian fiber-optic drones with a 20-kilometer range are operational on the front lines.