May 30, 2025
FPV drones with smart terminal guidance is one of the solutions, alongside fiber-optic drones, to russian heavy electronic warfare.
Ukrainian FPV drones with smart guidance systems continue to develop and are becoming increasingly common on the battlefield. They have become one of the countermeasures to the massive deployment of jammers and other electronic warfare systems along the frontline by russian forces.
How exactly the algorithm works can be seen in the video feed, intercepted from such a Ukrainian drone which continued operation despite being jammed, and subsequently published by the russians. The footage was shared by a Ukrainian community NIP Tysk:
At the beginning of the video, you can see how the drone enters the RXLOSS operating mode several times, which means it likely lost signal link with the operator. Apparently, that’s in response to interference trying to cut communication with the pilot.
From the 46th second of the video onward, there’s a notification on the screen display about RCSMOOTHING — a software function helping the operator to stabilize the drone’s movements. Then, at the 56th second, you can notice a pop-up instructing the pilot about their next actions: “Take aim, input acceleration and angle, then trigger the attack.”
The prompt below says “Take aim!” and it immediately changes to “Attacking!” once the target is locked. The drone enters the attack mode and does the rest on its own.
This terminal guidance, otherwise known as “machine vision,” is attempting to counter electromagnetic suppression by allowing tools to stabilize the flight and offering autonomy. An increasingly common alternative solution is FPV drones operated via fiber-optic cables: those are immune to EW but come with drawbacks of having lesser battery endurance and losing signal if the cable is cut off.
However, smart guidance has its downsides, too. First, you still need to manually guide the drone to the place from where the machine can lock on target, making it vulnerable to jamming before the operator designates the target and turns on the algorithm. Second, the system still cannot strike specific vulnerable points of the target, which is sometimes critical for successfully defeating armored vehicles or fortifications.
I see two possible developments in drone control technology that are the future; drones that really are jam-proof, and/or drones using smart guidance technology, but in conjunction with AI.
Both, fiber optic and operator controlled smart guidance drones are stopgap measures.
Whoever develops the truly jam-proof or fully workable AI drones first will have a huge advantage on the battlefield. Naturally, I hope that Ukraine will be the first. Perhaps it will be most likely so, seeing the help the country gets from numerous Western nations and companies.