Russia has supplied millions of fiber-optic first-person view drones known as Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky to its forces fighting in Ukraine, according to the director of the manufacturing company.
Alexey Chadayev, general director of the Ushkuinik research and production center, told the state news agency TASS that the number of units delivered had already reached into the millions.
Chadayev added that Ukrainian forces had not found effective countermeasures against the drones over the past two years of their deployment in the conflict zone.
First-person view aircraft are steered by operators using specialized headsets that display a live video feed from the nose of the device. These agile aircraft have become a defining weapon of the war in Ukraine, where both sides manufacture and deploy them in vast quantities to strike infantry, trenches and armoured vehicles.
While most unmanned aerial vehicles rely on radio signals to receive commands and transmit video, fiber-optic models unspool a physical glass thread behind them as they fly.
Electronic warfare immunity
This physical connection makes the drone immune to electronic warfare systems. Electronic jamming is a primary defence on the front lines in Ukraine, where specialized units constantly attempt to sever the radio link between enemy operators and their aircraft. A fiber-optic cable bypasses this interference, ensuring the operator retains control and a clear video feed until the moment of impact.
The Russian military newspaper Krasnaya Zvezda previously reported that the Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky drone can reach speeds of 70 kilometres per hour.
The publication noted that the drone is highly manoeuvrable and capable of flying into enclosed spaces such as bunkers, residential buildings and pillboxes. Traditional radio-controlled drones often fail in these dense environments because thick concrete and earth barriers block their wireless control signals.
Frontline deployment
The Ushkuinik center, which developed the aircraft, focuses on producing unmanned systems for the Russian military. The drone takes its name from a legendary ancient ruler of the Russian city of Novgorod.
In August, Chadayev claimed that the fiber-optic model had become the most effective unmanned aerial vehicle used by Russian forces during the ongoing military campaign.
The conflict has spurred rapid innovation in drone technology over the past three years, shifting battlefield tactics away from a reliance on traditional heavy artillery and toward precise remote controlled aerial strikes.
