U.S. FBI Explores Cable-Linked Drone Technology as Agencies Shift Away from Chinese UAVs
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The FBI has released an RFI for a fiber optic-controlled unmanned aircraft system that avoids radio links and meets NDAA compliance rules. The move signals a shift toward jam-resistant platforms as federal agencies confront emerging counter-drone threats.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice on the federal contracting portal, on November 20, 2025, the FBI issued a Request for Information for an Unmanned Aerial System controlled entirely via a fiber optic cable between the drone and its ground control station. The notice, released under solicitation RFI2025001, seeks NDAA-compliant systems and explicitly leaves size, class, and capability open, signaling a broad search for vendors rather than a narrow platform tender.Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
FBI teams are evaluating new fiber optic-controlled drones capable of operating without radio signals, giving agents secure, unjammable reconnaissance inside buildings and other RF-denied environments (Picture source: ArmyInform).
Contracting summaries reviewed by Army Recognition show the RFI was posted by the FBI within the Department of Justice, with responses due in December and the data to be used to refine final requirements and identify qualified suppliers. The description is concise but revealing: the UAS must be controlled via fiber optic cable between the aircraft and ground control station, must meet NDAA restrictions on foreign-made systems, and submissions are welcomed from both small and large businesses.
In parallel, the Bureau is also pursuing a separate “basic” quadcopter requirement for ruggedized, radio-controlled UAS with at least 30 minutes endurance, integrated video displays, and a unit cost ceiling of 12,000 dollars, according to detailed reporting from defense aviation sources. – Taken together, the two efforts point to a mixed fleet concept: conventional RF multirotors for routine overwatch and patrol, and fiber optic-controlled drones reserved for the most contested, politically sensitive, or RF denied missions.
The fiber optic concept replaces vulnerable radio links with a thin glass or plastic cable that carries both command inputs and high bandwidth video as pulses of light. Single-mode fibers with cores around 8 to 10 microns offer very high bandwidth and low latency over long distances, with far less signal distortion than multimode cables. Because the control signal never radiates through the air, conventional electronic warfare systems that jam or geolocate RF emissions have nothing to disrupt. Intercepting the link becomes a physical problem: cutting the cable or shooting down the drone.
Spools of cable add weight and drag, reducing endurance and payload, and the fiber can snag on power lines, rooftops, or vegetation. Open source analysis of battlefield systems suggests most current fiber FPV drones on the Ukrainian front operate effectively in the 10 to 25 kilometer band, with both Russian and Ukrainian developers now pushing toward 50 kilometer ranges. Even with these limits, Ukrainian officials describe fiber FPV as effectively immune to jamming and a major threat to logistics routes and rear area formations, a description that will resonate with any planner watching domestic critical infrastructure.
For the FBI, the operational logic is clear: border security officials have already warned that cartel groups employ counter-drone equipment capable of detecting and disrupting conventional UAS links, and cartel experts describe growing employment of jammers along key corridors. Fiber-controlled drones give FBI SWAT and the elite Hostage Rescue Team a way to push sensors into buildings, tunnels, ships, aircraft hangars, or subway infrastructure while retaining an unbroken control link, even in the presence of commercial jammers or dense steel and concrete.
In a barricaded suspect or hostage rescue situation, a small fiber optic quadcopter could be pushed through doors or windows, trailed by its cable, to provide persistent video, audio, and even CBRN sampling inside the objective while agents remain behind cover. In counter-improvised explosive device operations, a fiber drone could inspect suspect vehicles or packages in urban canyons where RF control is notoriously fragile. The FBI has previously explored mounting less-than-lethal distraction payloads on small drones to disorient hostage takers, and a fiber-controlled platform would be a natural testbed for such effects in jammed environments.
The requirement also sits inside a larger U.S. policy shift. By specifying NDAA-compliant systems, the FBI effectively excludes Chinese-made platforms such as DJI and Autel, reflecting statutory prohibitions that now bar federal agencies from procuring or operating UAS from covered foreign entities and push them toward American or allied solutions. That dovetails with the Pentagon’s Blue UAS effort, which is building a catalog of made-in-America drones that often share components, supply chains, and software stacks with systems used by domestic law enforcement.
Law enforcement is already comfortable with one branch of this family: static tethered systems such as Fotokite Sigma, which provide continuous aerial overwatch from a vehicle-mounted box using a combined power and data tether and are now common in police and fire departments. The FBI’s fiber optic UAS, however, would be more akin to a free-flying combat drone that drags its tether through complex terrain, marrying the security advantages of tethered systems with the maneuverability and low altitude agility of FPV platforms honed over Ukraine.
The same fiber optic drones that have forced Ukrainian and NATO staffs to rethink electronic warfare, short-range air defense, and rear area security are now shaping U.S. domestic procurement at the FBI. If this RFI matures into a funded program, it will create a new niche market for law enforcement-grade, NDAA-compliant fiber optic UAS, and more importantly, a live American testbed for both employing and defeating unjammable drones in dense urban terrain.
{loadposition bannertop}
{loadposition sidebarpub}
The FBI has released an RFI for a fiber optic-controlled unmanned aircraft system that avoids radio links and meets NDAA compliance rules. The move signals a shift toward jam-resistant platforms as federal agencies confront emerging counter-drone threats.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice on the federal contracting portal, on November 20, 2025, the FBI issued a Request for Information for an Unmanned Aerial System controlled entirely via a fiber optic cable between the drone and its ground control station. The notice, released under solicitation RFI2025001, seeks NDAA-compliant systems and explicitly leaves size, class, and capability open, signaling a broad search for vendors rather than a narrow platform tender.
Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link
FBI teams are evaluating new fiber optic-controlled drones capable of operating without radio signals, giving agents secure, unjammable reconnaissance inside buildings and other RF-denied environments (Picture source: ArmyInform).
Contracting summaries reviewed by Army Recognition show the RFI was posted by the FBI within the Department of Justice, with responses due in December and the data to be used to refine final requirements and identify qualified suppliers. The description is concise but revealing: the UAS must be controlled via fiber optic cable between the aircraft and ground control station, must meet NDAA restrictions on foreign-made systems, and submissions are welcomed from both small and large businesses.
In parallel, the Bureau is also pursuing a separate “basic” quadcopter requirement for ruggedized, radio-controlled UAS with at least 30 minutes endurance, integrated video displays, and a unit cost ceiling of 12,000 dollars, according to detailed reporting from defense aviation sources. – Taken together, the two efforts point to a mixed fleet concept: conventional RF multirotors for routine overwatch and patrol, and fiber optic-controlled drones reserved for the most contested, politically sensitive, or RF denied missions.
The fiber optic concept replaces vulnerable radio links with a thin glass or plastic cable that carries both command inputs and high bandwidth video as pulses of light. Single-mode fibers with cores around 8 to 10 microns offer very high bandwidth and low latency over long distances, with far less signal distortion than multimode cables. Because the control signal never radiates through the air, conventional electronic warfare systems that jam or geolocate RF emissions have nothing to disrupt. Intercepting the link becomes a physical problem: cutting the cable or shooting down the drone.
Spools of cable add weight and drag, reducing endurance and payload, and the fiber can snag on power lines, rooftops, or vegetation. Open source analysis of battlefield systems suggests most current fiber FPV drones on the Ukrainian front operate effectively in the 10 to 25 kilometer band, with both Russian and Ukrainian developers now pushing toward 50 kilometer ranges. Even with these limits, Ukrainian officials describe fiber FPV as effectively immune to jamming and a major threat to logistics routes and rear area formations, a description that will resonate with any planner watching domestic critical infrastructure.
For the FBI, the operational logic is clear: border security officials have already warned that cartel groups employ counter-drone equipment capable of detecting and disrupting conventional UAS links, and cartel experts describe growing employment of jammers along key corridors. Fiber-controlled drones give FBI SWAT and the elite Hostage Rescue Team a way to push sensors into buildings, tunnels, ships, aircraft hangars, or subway infrastructure while retaining an unbroken control link, even in the presence of commercial jammers or dense steel and concrete.
In a barricaded suspect or hostage rescue situation, a small fiber optic quadcopter could be pushed through doors or windows, trailed by its cable, to provide persistent video, audio, and even CBRN sampling inside the objective while agents remain behind cover. In counter-improvised explosive device operations, a fiber drone could inspect suspect vehicles or packages in urban canyons where RF control is notoriously fragile. The FBI has previously explored mounting less-than-lethal distraction payloads on small drones to disorient hostage takers, and a fiber-controlled platform would be a natural testbed for such effects in jammed environments.
The requirement also sits inside a larger U.S. policy shift. By specifying NDAA-compliant systems, the FBI effectively excludes Chinese-made platforms such as DJI and Autel, reflecting statutory prohibitions that now bar federal agencies from procuring or operating UAS from covered foreign entities and push them toward American or allied solutions. That dovetails with the Pentagon’s Blue UAS effort, which is building a catalog of made-in-America drones that often share components, supply chains, and software stacks with systems used by domestic law enforcement.
Law enforcement is already comfortable with one branch of this family: static tethered systems such as Fotokite Sigma, which provide continuous aerial overwatch from a vehicle-mounted box using a combined power and data tether and are now common in police and fire departments. The FBI’s fiber optic UAS, however, would be more akin to a free-flying combat drone that drags its tether through complex terrain, marrying the security advantages of tethered systems with the maneuverability and low altitude agility of FPV platforms honed over Ukraine.
The same fiber optic drones that have forced Ukrainian and NATO staffs to rethink electronic warfare, short-range air defense, and rear area security are now shaping U.S. domestic procurement at the FBI. If this RFI matures into a funded program, it will create a new niche market for law enforcement-grade, NDAA-compliant fiber optic UAS, and more importantly, a live American testbed for both employing and defeating unjammable drones in dense urban terrain.
