Atlantic Council: One Weapon Has Changed The Course Of The War In Ukraine
- 25.02.2026, 14:05
Thanks to the flexible startup system, Ukraine has not only adapted the technology, but also started to scale it.
The Russian aggression against Ukraine is now in its fifth year, accompanied by a continuous technological transformation of the front. In this confrontation, which has cemented its status as the world's first "drone war," a new significant stage has been the mass introduction of fiber-optic drones, security expert Vlad Sutea writes in a piece for the Atlantic Council.
He says that the Sumy-Sudzha logistics route has become an ideal testing ground for the new Russian weapon. Since such drones are controlled through the thinnest cable, they are absolutely immune to REB systems.
"Analysis of the videos of strikes confirms: from August 2024 to September 2025, a disproportionate share of attacks by these drones fell precisely on the Kursk sector. The results were critical - the level of Ukrainian equipment losses there was 25% higher than Russian losses. In addition to trucks, the targets were scarce tanks "Abrams" and BMP "Bradley", - stated in the material.
After the events in Kursk, the trend instantly spread along the entire front line. However, by the middle of 2025, the situation ceased to be one-sided.
The expert says that thanks to the flexible ecosystem of startups, Ukraine not only adapted the technology, but also began to scale it. In a short period of time, more than 80 Ukrainian-made fiber-optic systems have been approved for use. While the first samples had a limited radius, the Birds of Madyar division is already using drones capable of reaching a distance of about 40 kilometers.
The rapid spread of the technology has caught the Alliance's attention. In 2025, countering such drones became the main topic of the NATO Innovation Competition, where developers from Ukraine and the United States won.
According to the material, the problem is that there is no universal "antidote" against drones that cannot be jammed. Right now, the arsenal of defenses includes acoustic sensors, radar triggers and physical barriers. Alongside traditional rifle fire, innovative AI-based detection systems are increasingly being deployed.
The geography of drone use on the wire is expanding at an impressive rate. They have already been spotted in the arsenals of Sudanese militias, Mexican cartels and China's army, says the author.
"Ukraine's experience shows that militaries that rely solely on radio-controlled drones and electronic warfare risk catastrophic losses at critical moments. Fiber-optic drones may not replace traditional systems, but they have proven themselves to be a reliable component of the modern warfare arsenal. What began in Kursk as an experiment with seemingly obsolete technology has now changed the face of drone warfare," the expert concludes.