The Zhakh series of FPV quadcopter drones made by Ukrainian company BlueBird Tech can uncoil fiber optic cables to maintain communications with human operators.
Credit: BlueBird Technology
The Zhakh series of FPV quadcopter drones made by Ukrainian company BlueBird Tech can uncoil fiber optic cables to maintain communications with human operators.
Credit: BlueBird Technology
The Ukrainian company produces multiple types of drones for reconnaissance and attack missions, along with a ground robot, drone detection systems and electronic warfare systems. It has also begun developing an air defense interceptor drone.
There are still “certain product configurations for which there is currently no direct replacement for Starlink,” because the “technical capabilities and accessibility of satellite service make it difficult to substitute in some applications,” the BlueBird Tech representative said. But they also described the company as “actively exploring ways to add redundancy and potentially replace these components in the future.”
Some of the most promising wireless approaches include using LTE or 5G terrestrial wireless networks or even turning to laser-based optical communication.
BlueBird Tech is also examining radio-based mesh networks that allow ground-based transmitters or even radio-equipped drones to act as relay nodes within a larger decentralized communications system. This approach has been increasingly implemented by Russian drone strike missions in Ukrainian cities, as The Kyiv Independent details.
AI Navigation and Guidance Alternatives
Another Ukrainian defense company, Buntar Aerospace, described always considering the possibility that a communications service like Starlink could be available due to battlefield conditions.
“The recent Starlink and Starshield outages did not affect our operations because we had prepared for this scenario in advance,” Bohdan Sas, co-founder of Buntar Aerospace, said in an email to Ars. “Losing access to a communications service does not necessarily mean losing the ability to carry out a mission.”
The Buntar-3 reconnaissance drone can integrate Starlink but also has backup communication systems.
Credit: Buntar Aeroespacial
The Buntar-3 reconnaissance drone can integrate Starlink but also has backup communication systems.
Credit: Buntar Aeroespacial
Buntar Aerospace has provided the Ukrainian military forces with fixed-wing reconnaissance drones that can fly up to 100 kilometers (62 miles). Drone operations benefit from AI-powered software called Buntar Copilot that can supposedly adapt flight plans to factors such as weather, signal quality or interference, and battery life.
The company describes each data stream from its Buntar-3 drone, such as data from its flight sensors or its camera video stream, as transmitted over separate channels to reduce the impact of a dropped stream. Although the drone incorporates a Starlink terminal, it also has alternative communication methods in case any service is interrupted.
