MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. Russia has managed to build a significant advantage over Ukraine in developing, producing and using fiber-optic unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with drones immune to jamming now being supplied to actually every Russian army unit, Oleg Fyodorov, unmanned aircraft expert and CEO of the Frobotics Advanced Technology Engineering Center, told TASS on Wednesday.

"A lot of tech firms in Russia quickly realized the key benefits of fiber-optic drones, as they operate without an active video transmitter, transmit no signal, and therefore cannot be detected. Another advantage is that they cannot be jammed by electronic warfare systems, since they are guided by a fiber-optic cable. For this reason, drone manufacturers have begun coordinating their work with specialists in the field. Our company also promptly recognized the benefits of fiber optics and started introducing fiber-optic controls in its devices," the expert said.

Russia far outpaces Ukraine in using fiber-optic systems, he emphasized.

"Actually every unit engaged in combat operations at the frontline is already receiving fiber-optic drones. Many domestic drone producers manufacture fiber-optic wire reels, and we are actively integrating all of this and steadily ramping up production. Russian specialists were faster than the enemy in recognizing the major advantage of fiber optics, enabling them to scale up output and speed up the process of introducing these systems into production. This has allowed Russia to secure a major lead over Ukraine in this area," the expert said.

The British TV Channel Sky News reported earlier that Ukraine is losing the UAV race to Russia, as Moscow has developed drones immune to jamming by electronic warfare systems. Russian troops began using fiber-optic drones earlier than Ukraine, thus achieving a leading position in this field, Sky News reported.