Unrestrained UAV for $ 200: Volunteer from the United States has collected a drone for the Armed Forces on a fiber (video)
The inventor was inspired by the article in Forbes about the new experimental Russian FPV-Dron, driven by the operator through the fiber cable, not through the radio signal. "I immediately realized that this is exactly what our Ukrainian forces need," Smozers said. The idea of UAV on the fiber was initially risky: many skeptics argued that the cable would be tangled or break, and the flight range would be too short without maneuvering.
"The Russian radio electronic war is becoming more intense, more and more systems are located along the front line. Already 50% or more Ukrainian FPV has been intercepted. In some areas, the figure was much higher," the author said. Smozers began to create his own optic drone and realized that, unlike the US army, which could afford shock drones for $ 50,000, Ukrainians needed solutions.
The American showed technology at meetings with almost all manufacturers in Ukraine, up to the State Ukroboronprom. "I showed them how to attach a little additional equipment and turn FPV into a fiber drone at a price of less than $ 200," he says. Smozers gave everyone the opportunity to test the prototype and see how he flies. The coil and the mechanism added weight, but left enough space for the warhead.
The cable was not torn or confused, and the maneuvering was more than enough for attacks a few kilometers. Further, the inventor checked the drone on the forefront with the "foreign legion", the fighters attacked him a Russian position. Everyone watched the broadcast monitor, the drone acted as flawlessly as the demonstrations. "When he struck, a loud roar came. I had a sense of duty," Smozers says. After that, a few more confirmed successful hits were recorded by Ukrainian FPV-Droni.