Are the drones actually dragging around cable? Oh! Are these from guided anti-material munitions? That would make sense! I thought someone was laying fiber optics for some reason.

I wonder what the environmental impact of this is. This can't be glass, right? Plastic?

[–] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 21 points 6 days ago

Yeah, the fiber optic drones used by both sides now have these huge barrel spools of fiber optic cables on them. Things can go for miles, it’s wild.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Are the drones actually dragging around cable?

Not quite, they spool them off from the drone as they go, so they don't have to deal with any drag across the ground.

This can’t be glass, right? Plastic?

As far as I know they are using standard telecom fiber, so it's silica glass, partially doped to make the refractive index between core and cladding different

[–] sxan@midwest.social 3 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I'm finding that technology has changed a lot since I last looked into this, but glass fiber was not known for its flexibility. For guided rockets, I can see that wouldn't be much of an issue, but for the maneuvers those drones make it seems fiber would not have some downsides. Do you mean the winged drones?

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It's been a while but in this very comm someone posted pictures of a quadcopter drone with a 41.4 km drum. I'll try to dig it up.

Here's one https://sopuli.xyz/post/21919901, it was a hexacopter, not quad.

And in my search I also came across these links:

And finally here is even a demo video:

https://sopuli.xyz/post/18922497

It seems fiber works fine even on manoeuvrable drones.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 1 points 5 days ago

That's crazy! Thanks for the links, it's fascinating. Fiber technology has really passed me by.

[–] astropenguin5@lemmy.world 2 points 5 days ago

Nope, it is in fact prop drones using them. I couldnt quickly find a good article or anything on it, but I'm pretty sure because the fiber is just draping freely from the drone to the ground there is plenty of space for the necessary curvature, which I assume isn't actually that big since it is carried on spools on the drone to counteract getting tangled.

I'm sure there are some specific downsides and more nuanced limitations but the ability to not be affected by RF jamming outweighs it.

[–] shadowtofu@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 6 days ago (2 children)

I would assume/hope that it’s pretty simple to collect all the cables again? Just “walk” once across the field, pick up all the cables, roll them up, and you are done? I am kind of wondering why the operator couldn’t just roll up the cable from their side again after the end of the flight. But I can understand that that is not a priority at that point.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 11 points 6 days ago (1 children)

There is no way these bare fibers have the tensile strength necessary that you even could drag kilometers of it back to the operator through the terrain. You need to know, these are not full cables as you would normally use them for networking, that would be to heavy for the drone. Instead it's single fiber strands without any mantle.

[–] nailbar@sopuli.xyz 2 points 5 days ago (2 children)

They're surprisingly durable. Afaik you can't break them with your bare hands, you need something to cut them with.

[–] OvertonDoors@infosec.exchange 3 points 5 days ago

@nailbar @Kazumara

Bare fiber (core + cladding) is quite easy to break in compression. It's brittle and prone to fracture under shear + pressure, just like any other piece of glass.

There's no intention to pick these strands up after use, it's a single use device. Once it leaves the spool it never goes back in. In the cold math of warfare a 1-way $3-5k device is worth much more than a lada filled with food and water if that delivery never makes it to the front. Moreso for an IFV, fixed artillery, AA, or drone operator.

These systems can operate as reconnaissance with reusable drones, however, the fiber spool is by design single use.

And yeah, that shit hurts when it's imbedded under your skin. And it's going to persist in the environment for years afterward. War is like that.

[–] Kazumara@discuss.tchncs.de 3 points 5 days ago

Well I have never tried to deliberately break a fiber, usually my goal is to have them work when I'm done. But the bare fibers without mantle are really thin (250 micrometer is typical, 125 for core and cladding, and 125 around that for the coating) and you have to treat them carefully. I think if you bent them tight they would break. I know splicing tools have special cutters included, but my understanding was that those are only needed to make a proper 90° cut good for splicing.

[–] phdepressed@sh.itjust.works 5 points 6 days ago

Because you're getting the fuck outta dodge before a retaliation strike and to set up the next one.