Drone strike on Saransk: Ukraine hits Russian optical fibre maker JSC Optical Fiber Systems

Overnight into Saturday, Ukrainian forces carried out a successful drone strike on key Russian defence plants in Saransk, among them JSC Optical Fiber Systems and Photon Tech System LLC.

Lyuty drones were probably used, along with light aircraft carrying FAB aerial bombs under their fuselage. The presumably unmanned aircraft had to cover at least 700 to 800 kilometres from Ukraine. The actual distance was far longer, because the route follows identified gaps in Russian air defence. For this, the Ukrainian side now uses AI-controlled navigation systems.

What the drone strike in Saransk hit

According to available information, JSC Optical Fiber Systems manufactures the following products:

• Optical signal amplifiers: they are used to transmit high-quality drone video over fibre-optic communication links, above all for first-person view (FPV) drones.
• Radiation- and heat-resistant gyroscopes for navigation systems: because they withstand extreme conditions, they are suitable for missile warheads exposed to considerable temperature and radiation loads, for the navigation of combat aircraft, helicopters and missiles, including unmanned aerial vehicles (strike and reconnaissance systems), and for satellites.
• Photonic radars: here the signal is carried by light and processed optically. Compared with conventional radars, they offer higher resolution and greater sensitivity. This allows slow, low-flying and small targets such as small drones to be detected more accurately, especially in complex electromagnetic environments.

According to media reports, the plant used Western equipment, mainly products of the Austrian company Rosendahl Nextrom GmbH, as well as Chinese systems from Vacree.

The company is said to operate six production lines with a daily output of 12,000 kilometres. No one else in Russia manufactures such optical fibre systems.

Photon Tech System LLC belongs to Rostec Holding. The company produces photonics training equipment, optical tables, laminar flow boxes, laser radiation visualisers, laser safety systems and other high-tech products. It also develops night vision devices, thermal imaging systems and other optical electronics, which are fitted to a wide range of military equipment.