Russia is preparing to extend the operational flight range of its Provod fiber-optic first-person view drones, which are already capable of flying beyond 40 kilometers. An official representative of the Ovod engineering and production center announced the upcoming performance upgrade in a report published by Russian state news agency TASS.
The Provod system belongs to a class of tethered uncrewed aerial vehicles that rely on physical optical fiber lines rather than traditional radio frequencies to relay commands and video signals between the drone and its operator. First-person view drones allow remote pilots to navigate aircraft in real time using video feeds transmitted directly from onboard cameras.
According to the manufacturer, current production models use wire spools that permit operations up to 40 kilometers away, with additional range capacity technically feasible. The representative explained that tethered drones vary primarily by the capacity of their spool mechanisms, which release lightweight optical fiber behind the aircraft during flight.
Extending the reach of the Provod will require adjustments to the physical design of the drone. The spokesperson noted that increasing the length of the spools will inevitably add weight and increase the overall size of the airframe. Design teams at Ovod are refining the aircraft on a continuous basis to incorporate feedback and specific requirements from the Russian Ministry of Defence.
Combat performance and targeting costs
The representative from Ovod also shared battlefield metrics regarding the tactical deployment and efficiency of the system against heavy military targets. Operators typically expend between two and four drones to successfully destroy an enemy artillery installation or armored combat vehicle.
Despite the requirement for multiple aircraft on a single target, the overall expense remains low compared to traditional guided munitions. The spokesperson stated that the total cost of destroying a target using Provod drones does not exceed one million rubles.
Looking toward future technical upgrades, designers at the Ovod center are working to integrate automated navigation and targeting features. The representative confirmed that engineers intend to build upcoming product variants that operate using artificial intelligence algorithms.
Electronic warfare protection and previous range records
Efforts to expand the flight envelope of the Provod build upon earlier achievements with wired drone systems. In July, public reports revealed that another Russian fiber-optic drone, the Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky, successfully engaged a target at a distance of 42 kilometers.
Wired guidance systems provide a major tactical advantage on modern battlefields by neutralizing defense measures designed to disrupt uncrewed aircraft. Standard military drones depend on wireless signals that are vulnerable to jamming, spoofing, and direction-finding by enemy electronic warfare units. Because fiber-optic drones transmit data through physical glass fibers, they operate entirely unhindered by radio interference.
