DRONELEDGER / Press factsheet
Fibre-optic FPV · class
A compact selection from this profile, with sources and limits. Other configurations and additional measurements remain in the full profile.
FPV drones whose control and video travel through optical fibre rather than solely over a radio link. This is a control-link class spanning different Ukrainian and Russian aircraft; Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky is one documented example. Neither a spool’s nominal length nor one model’s payload establishes a universal flight range, endurance or mass for the class.[1][2][3]
Public-source profile. Performance claims are attributed; type links do not verify an incident identification.
The numbers, with their sources
Unknown in reviewed sources
Form, sound & identification limits
- GUR’s KVN page contains an examined-component trail and a model-specific declared specification. Those numbers remain outside this class dashboard. In particular cable length, communication distance and actual flight distance are not equivalent measurements.[1]
- RUSI’s supply-chain research treats fibre-optic aircraft as part of rapid design adaptation. The physical link changes radio-jamming exposure, but does not make the whole aircraft invulnerable or remove physical and environmental limitations. No construction, piloting or defeat instructions are reproduced here.[2]
- Ukraine’s defence ministry separately reports authorising many fibre-optic types. Authorisation counts concern distinct systems, not aircraft delivered or incidents. A generic FPV tag is not automatically refined to fibre-optic control or KVN; the source must name that feature.[1][3]
Shape or sound alone cannot identify a drone. Follow local public-safety alerts; do not approach wreckage.
Source notebook
- Defence Intelligence of Ukraine · Knyaz Vandal Novgorodsky: examined components and declared characteristics
Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Official report; not an independent test
- RUSI · Drones: Decoupling Supply Chains from China (November 2025)
Publication date not stated · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Approximate / analyst compilation
Consulted via search index; direct page unavailable
- Ministry of Defence of Ukraine · 2026 codification of unmanned systems including fibre-optic types
2026-09-22 · Source consulted: 2026-11-01 · Official report; not an independent test
Cite this profile
DroneLedger. Fibre-optic FPV · class. 2026-11-01. https://droneincidents.com/drones/fiber-optic-fpv/editions/2026-11-01/
Our text, data and schematic drawings: CC BY 4.0, credit DroneLedger and link to the profile. Linked publications and quoted passages keep their own rights.