FPV drones above 7 GHz: Ukraine opens a new round in the frequency war

When wars last a long time, the technologies used make major leaps in development – and this also applies to FPV drones, i.e. drones with a first-person view (FPV). A historical example: from 1939 to 1941, the panzer divisions of the German Wehrmacht were equipped mainly with the Panzerkampfwagen II, which weighed 9 tonnes, had 15 millimetres of armour and produced 140 hp.

From 1943, by contrast, the Panzer V Panther and Panzer VI Tiger already reached 45 to 57 tonnes, up to 110 millimetres of armour and 700 hp. Standard fighters followed a similar path: the most modern Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Spitfires had around 1,000 hp at the start of the war, and about 1,500 hp by its end.

How drone warfare became a frequency war

The drone war in Ukraine is no different. In the first FPV kamikaze drones, transmitter and receiver modules came from civilian mass production. Their frequencies were accordingly regulated by statutory standards.

Electronic warfare specialists meticulously recorded the signals on the battlefields, analysed them and assigned them to specific drone classes or types. Both sides developed and deployed analysis and warning devices as well as jammers to monitor the identified frequency ranges, issue warnings where necessary or prevent their use.

Probably the most important response to this “frequency war” is the wire-guided drone. In February 2024, debris of a Russian drone carrying a ten-kilometre optical fibre was discovered in Ukraine for the first time.

FPV drones transmit beyond 6 GHz

Now Russian specialists are sounding the alarm in drone forums. In the debris of FPV drones of the Ukrainian Armed Forces they found transmitters and antennas whose video link ran at 6.7 GHz (6,700 MHz) and even 7.2 GHz (7,200 MHz).

This matters because Russian warning devices and jammers are not tuned to these frequencies. In all known versions, Russian frequency tables for drone operations end at 6.0 GHz (6,000 MHz) – that is how far beyond the known scale Ukraine now operates.

Some devices might possibly be adapted by software update. Technically, however, many of the warning and jamming systems in use are not designed for such high frequencies at all – rendering them useless.

Russia has large quantities of equipment operating between 370 MHz and 2.7 GHz (2,700 MHz). There are also individual sets reaching down to 100 MHz and others covering up to 5.95 GHz (5,950 MHz). Higher spectra can only be captured with special equipment of units specialising in electronic warfare.

In concrete terms: suitably equipped Ukrainian FPV drones can operate without Russian soldiers being warned or their frequencies being jammed.

When will Russia catch up?

How long the technological lead will last is open. Experience shows that adapted Russian systems sometimes reach the battlefield only after several months.

In practical use, FPV drones at such high frequencies usually need an airborne “repeater”, because signals in this range strictly require a clear line of sight between transmitter and receiver. In return, transmission range can be very long, and there are significantly more channels. In lower frequency bands, FPV pilots must coordinate so as not to interfere with each other; in the 7 GHz band, by contrast, many drones can fly simultaneously in the same area of operations.