this post was submitted on 27 May 2025
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What? Why is there so much fiber optic cable?
From Internet (not op):
Are they tethered to the operator?
The drones have a spool of fiber optic cable. Some spools can reach 40km. The spool unwinds as the drone flies and yes it would either lead back to the operator or they could in theory have a node that it connects to and then from there connect to operator via cable or wireless. Really fascinating stuff imo
How they work:
Now Iβm curious how much a 40km long spool costs
Looking at Alibaba, the "bare fiber for FPV drone" cost around $600 for a 50km spool.
Very expensive probably. They are selling 1000 feet (I think thatβs like 300m) on Amazon for between 300-900 USD.
Wait that seems like way too much. You can get 40km cabled so with a mantle for 5000 USD
Found something even better, here's a spool of fiber from Corning (they are the industry leader) 24 km for 600 USD
Or random alibaba listing: 50 km for 134 USD plus shipping, minimum order 5 spools
Still way cheaper than the $58k it costs for a switchblade drone.
If you take the amazon price as reference. It comes out about the same when adjusted for length, maybe slightly more expensive.
Just several hundred dollars, and a visit from the ATF.