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→RF v. fiber optics
[[File:Photo 2025-06-09 10-43-39.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Echo of war, Ukraine. Birds build nests from the remains of fiber optic cables.]]
[[File:Photo 2025-06-09 10-43-39.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Echo of war, Ukraine. Birds build nests from the remains of fiber optic cables.]]
An RF (radio frequency) drone can typically send an image with a resolution of 720p, which is decent as the drone approaches close to its target but poor at distance from the target. RF drones also introduce compression in the video signal, which can degrade the image. In addition, with swarms of drones the RF signal has to share available bandwidth with other drones, that can degrade the signal and introduce delays. A single RF FPV drone will have a lag in the signal of between 30 to 100 ms. (milliseconds), but when it operates in conjunction with others the delay is greater. A Fiber Optic drone, by contrast, has a much higher bandwidth, typically in the 4K or 8K range and a lag of less than 1 ms. There is no interference with other drones because the drone is physically connected to the operator. Speed of communication is around 1 gigabyte.
An RF (radio frequency) drone can typically send an image with a resolution of 720p, which is decent as the drone approaches close to its target but poor at distance from the target. RF drones also introduce compression in the video signal, which can degrade the image. In addition, with swarms of drones the RF signal has to share available bandwidth with other drones, that can degrade the signal and introduce delays. A single RF FPV drone will have a lag in the signal of between 30 to 100 ms. (milliseconds), but when it operates in conjunction with others the delay is greater. A Fiber Optic drone, by contrast, has a much higher bandwidth, typically in the 4K or 8K range and a lag of less than 1 ms. There is no interference with other drones because the drone is physically connected to the operator. Speed of communication is around 1 gigabyte.
Fiber Optic fiber reels that automatically dispense the fiber cable are available in different lengths. Obviously the more fiber needed, the heavier the package. Some fiber reel dispensers are said to go up to 50km (31 miles), but the more typical ones on the battlefield are in the 20km (12.4 miles) range.
==Tactical considerations==
==Tactical considerations==