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Now, let’s delve into the topic at hand: The use of fiber-optic cable has become a fundamental aspect of drone warfare. From Ukraine to the Sahel, combatants are deploying quadcopters controlled via kilometer-long lengths of cable. This allows operators to control them across vast distances while protecting the drone from being disabled in the sky.
This technique was once an economical method for militaries to outsmart their opponents’ electronic warfare. However, the increasing demand for cable from data centers and warfare is escalating the cost of every flight. Warfare is a strategic game of cat and mouse. When small, inexpensive quadcopter drones began to rule the skies, first by the Islamic State and then in Russia’s war on Ukraine, fighters quickly discovered it was simpler to disable them with electronic warfare than to shoot them down.
In 2023, Russia began to deploy FPV drones controlled via lengths of fiber-optic cable. The cable is stored in a tube beneath the drone that unwinds as it flies. The fiber-optic cable provides a swift and clear connection between a drone and its operator, making it immune to jamming as no signal is transmitted through the air.
Ukraine suffered significant vehicle losses when Moscow began using fiber-optic drones. However, Kyiv quickly adopted the tactic, and now the country’s wheat fields are littered with discarded cable. Three years ago, this was an inexpensive and effective way of bypassing enemy defenses. In 2026, it’s not nearly as cost-effective.
The price of fiber-optic cable has been steadily increasing since 2023 and has almost doubled in just the past few months. In January, Shanghai-based fiber-optic company Sun Telecom predicted a “fiber famine” in 2026. Last year, a kilometer of its G.652D fiber cable cost $2.20. By December of 2025, the same length of cable cost $3. A month later, Sun Telecom had increased the price again to $4.1.
One of the significant market shifts driving up the cost of fiber is the increased demand for data centers as companies scramble to build the compute infrastructure they believe they’ll need for AI. In a January LinkedIn post, North Carolina telecom company Brightspeed warned of “fiber-supply shortages.” Two other American ISPs told trade publication Broadband Breakfast they’d seen orders for fiber unexpectedly cancelled.
