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Cherev

Counter-FPV / counter-UAS

Fiber-optic drone defense

Fiber-optic FPV drones fly on a spooled glass fiber and emit no radio signal. Used at scale in Ukraine and reported on Israel's northern border, they pass through every RF-based defense. This page explains the threat and the layered, non-RF response, and what Cherev does within it.

Request a threat briefingWhat Cherev does

The threat

A drone with no link to cut

A fiber-optic drone carries a spool of hair-thin optical fiber that unwinds in flight. Flight control and live video travel through the glass. There is no radio to jam, spoof or detect, and the operator flies visually, so GNSS denial is irrelevant. Every jammer, RF direction-finder and GNSS-denial system bought over the last decade is blind to it. The drone's own limits are physical: spool weight, range, and the snag risk of a fiber trailing through trees and wires.

The response

Moving the kill chain off radio frequency

Three steps, none of them radio-based, and all of them dependent on a trained crew.

  1. 01

    Detect without radio

    Passive electro-optical and thermal sensors with AI vision, fused with small-target radar and acoustic cues, find a target that emits no signal.

  2. 02

    Decide in seconds

    A trained crew classifies the track and chooses the effector before the drone closes the distance. This step is human, and it is where most defenses fail.

  3. 03

    Defeat physically

    Interceptor drones, nets, small arms, fiber-cutting or directed energy. The link cannot be cut electronically, so the airframe must be stopped.

High-power microwave is the exception that proves the rule: it does not attack the link, it attacks the drone's electronics. Epirus reported the first documented HPM defeat of a fiber-optic-controlled drone in December 2025. It is one layer among several, not a replacement for the crew.

What Cherev does

Assessment, integration, crews

Hardware alone does not stop a fiber drone. The crew must detect, decide and engage in seconds. Cherev works at that layer, drawing on our team's operational experience and on direct contact with units facing the threat now.

  1. 01

    Exposure assessment

    We map where a unit or site is blind to RF-silent threats: approach routes, sensor coverage, reaction time and the effectors actually on hand.

  2. 02

    Layered response design and integration

    We design the detect-decide-defeat layer from partner sensors and effectors and integrate it into the unit's existing command picture. We do not manufacture hardware and we do not sell a single box.

  3. 03

    Crew training

    Counter-FPV is a detect-decide-engage problem measured in seconds. Crews drill it on our Keshet Yehonatan training system with recorded performance and after-action review.

  4. 04

    Doctrine and force protection

    Frontline counter-FPV lessons, interceptor tactics, route overwatch, dispersal and overhead cover, written into drills and SOPs a unit can use now.

We describe this capability by what we do, not by where it has been used. Cherev does not publish deployments, customers or results, and does not call this offering battlefield-proven.

In the news

External reporting on the threat

External reporting for context. Cherev is not affiliated with the outlets or companies cited.

Questions

Fiber-optic drones, briefly

What is a fiber-optic drone?
An FPV attack or reconnaissance drone that flies trailing a thin spooled optical fiber instead of using a radio link. The fiber carries flight control and live video, so the drone emits no radio signal, cannot be jammed and is invisible to RF detection. Reported tether lengths run from several kilometers to over twenty.
Why can't electronic warfare stop it?
Jamming disrupts the radio link between drone and operator. A fiber-optic drone has no radio link. There is no frequency to jam, spoof or detect, and GNSS spoofing is irrelevant because the operator flies visually.
How do you detect and defeat one?
Detection moves to passive, non-RF sensors: electro-optical and thermal cameras with AI vision, small-target radar and acoustic cues, fused so one sensor cues and another confirms. Defeat is physical: interceptor drones, nets, small arms, fiber-cutting and directed energy. The spool's weight and the fiber's snag risk are the drone's own limits.
Does EMP or high-power microwave work against fiber drones?
Yes, and it is one of the few electronic methods that does. Instead of attacking the link, high-power microwave attacks the drone's onboard electronics. A first documented HPM defeat of a fiber-optic-controlled drone was reported by Epirus in December 2025.
What does Cherev actually provide?
Three things: an assessment of a unit's real exposure to RF-blind threats; the design and integration of a layered non-RF detection and defeat response using partner sensors and effectors; and training for the crews who run it. We do not manufacture sensors or effectors.

Further reading

Our counter-FPV series

Facing the fiber-optic drone threat?

Request a confidential briefing. We will map your exposure and the fastest path to layered protection and crew readiness.

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