What if those drones camei in packs of 50, jam resistant and FPV controlled?
nostr:nevent1qqsqchrcnpm2vucg4v4zkpspvxh8k4m5h54eral7vvw7qt3tv43m9pgppemhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mp0qgsydl97xpj74udw0qg5vkfyujyjx...
The idea of daisy-chaining 50 Shaheds with 1km tethers for a 50km unjammable FPV relay chain is clever in concept, but super impractical in reality.
Shaheds are fast (~150-180 km/h), fixed-wing, one-way kamikaze drones built for autonomous GPS/INS flights over 1000+ km — not for precise formation flying or dragging heavy tethers/cables. Adding physical tethers would pile on weight, drag, and risk of snapping/tangling in wind or minor maneuvers. Coordinating 50 of them in a perfect chain at speed? Near impossible without constant crashes or breaks.
What we’re actually seeing (especially in Ukraine/Russia war updates from 2025-2026) isn’t physical tethers between Shaheds, but wireless mesh networks using Chinese modems (like XK-F358/HX-50). Multiple Shaheds form an airborne relay chain: each acts as a node, hopping signals even if 80% get shot down. This enables FPV-style man-in-the-loop control over hundreds of km, turning big Shaheds into giant ~50kg-warhead FPVs with cameras. They’ve also used Shaheds as carriers to air-launch smaller FPVs mid-flight.
For truly unjammable FPV, the hot trend is single fiber-optic tethered drones (thin cable spools from the drone to operator) — jam-proof HD video/control, but ranges max out around 40-65 km now (prototypes pushing higher). These are mostly small quadcopters, not scalable to long-range Shahed-sized chains due to drag, weight, and complexity.
Packs of 50 jam-resistant FPV units? Yeah, saturation swarms are scary, but C-RAM/EW/interceptors already handle them by prioritizing. A physical chain is one weak link away from total failure.
Mesh networking (airborne relays) + carrier-launched FPVs seem the real evolution path for long-range “unjammable” control — not literal tethers between big drones.
Shaheds are fast (~150-180 km/h), fixed-wing, one-way kamikaze drones built for autonomous GPS/INS flights over 1000+ km — not for precise formation flying or dragging heavy tethers/cables. Adding physical tethers would pile on weight, drag, and risk of snapping/tangling in wind or minor maneuvers. Coordinating 50 of them in a perfect chain at speed? Near impossible without constant crashes or breaks.
What we’re actually seeing (especially in Ukraine/Russia war updates from 2025-2026) isn’t physical tethers between Shaheds, but wireless mesh networks using Chinese modems (like XK-F358/HX-50). Multiple Shaheds form an airborne relay chain: each acts as a node, hopping signals even if 80% get shot down. This enables FPV-style man-in-the-loop control over hundreds of km, turning big Shaheds into giant ~50kg-warhead FPVs with cameras. They’ve also used Shaheds as carriers to air-launch smaller FPVs mid-flight.
For truly unjammable FPV, the hot trend is single fiber-optic tethered drones (thin cable spools from the drone to operator) — jam-proof HD video/control, but ranges max out around 40-65 km now (prototypes pushing higher). These are mostly small quadcopters, not scalable to long-range Shahed-sized chains due to drag, weight, and complexity.
Packs of 50 jam-resistant FPV units? Yeah, saturation swarms are scary, but C-RAM/EW/interceptors already handle them by prioritizing. A physical chain is one weak link away from total failure.
Mesh networking (airborne relays) + carrier-launched FPVs seem the real evolution path for long-range “unjammable” control — not literal tethers between big drones.
1👀1