The Ukrainians recently captured a Russian drone which communicates via a fiber-optic link, making it jam-proof. This looks like a big headache and not just for Ukraine.
That’s my point. The fiber spools out of the drone and curves back towards the operator on the ground at an angle that depends on the weight of the fiber and the tension applied by the drone. Given a lightweight fiber and a low tension to avoid breaking it, then if the drone was 1km directly overhead then the closest point where the fiber reaches ground level would be several hundred meters away.
By the time the fiber gets close enough to reach, the drone is already there.
Also, won’t these cables point directly back to the ground troops?
Not necessarily. The drone can be deployed on a different vector and change course toward the target so that its fiber line would point elsewhere. The operator can also pull the fiber back in after the drone is destroyed or the line is cut.
That’s my point. The fiber spools out of the drone and curves back towards the operator on the ground at an angle that depends on the weight of the fiber and the tension applied by the drone. Given a lightweight fiber and a low tension to avoid breaking it, then if the drone was 1km directly overhead then the closest point where the fiber reaches ground level would be several hundred meters away.
By the time the fiber gets close enough to reach, the drone is already there.
Not necessarily. The drone can be deployed on a different vector and change course toward the target so that its fiber line would point elsewhere. The operator can also pull the fiber back in after the drone is destroyed or the line is cut.