Drone swarm via optical fibre: Russia develops the Cerberus system

A new drone swarm from Russia is to be controlled via fibre-optic cable: developers there have designed an innovative concept. Six to twelve multicopter drones are to launch from a mobile platform – demonstrated on a truck – and take on different tasks. A single operator, supported by artificial intelligence (AI), is to be able to control the entire swarm. The Cerberus system is named after the multi-headed hound of hell from Greek mythology.

The brain of the system is the Cerberus module on the truck, the central control unit. All drones are linked by fibre-optic cable, allowing secure communication free of interference. Some of them are to carry out reconnaissance and surveillance, the others to attack identified targets.

The system's strength lies in the stable and secure fibre-optic link, which ensures high image quality and transmits real-time information without delay. While the drones act autonomously, the operator's role is mainly supervisory. The Cerberus module weighs around 170 kilograms; it has its own power supply and can be quickly mounted on suitable trucks.

Model: the “Prince Vandal of Novgorod”

According to Nikolai Ivashov, official representative of Fly Drone, fibre-optic-guided drones are particularly suitable for attacks on electronically protected targets. This has already been demonstrated by the Russian kamikaze drone “Prince Vandal of Novgorod”, a fibre-optic-guided first-person view (FPV) drone.

Published images show a Russian soldier holding this drone: on the left the brown shaped-charge warhead, on the right the black spool containing the optical fibre. Documented operations have reached ranges of more than 20 kilometres. The system's images are high-resolution and arrive almost without delay; it remains invisible to radio-frequency drone detection systems, and jammers have no effect.

Drone swarm prototype announced for “Army-2025”

The Cerberus control centre itself, however, is considered a possible weak point, so extensive testing is still pending. A first prototype is to be presented in August at the “Army-2025” forum. The Russian Ministry of Defence holds this arms fair every year at the “Patriot” theme park in Kubinka, around 50 kilometres west of Moscow.

Russia was the first country to use fibre-optic-guided FPV drones successfully. Ukrainian drone developers estimate the Russian lead in this technology at around four months – the cause, they say, is not technological shortcomings but difficulties in building supply chains and production capacity. In Ukraine, a 20-kilometre fibre-optic kit for an FPV drone currently costs around 500 euros.