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The fiber optic team gets the order to attack at last, but the daylight is already fading. We heard what was probably a Russian kamicazi drone above our dugout. only a few minutes ago. Exposed out in the field. His jeopardy is now 10fold. The Russians want to kill pilots like Puma. And the Russian lines are closed. Puma gets tangled in the gossamer thin fiber optic cable. It's strong, but if damaged, the drone simply won't work. Puma returns to the safety of his bunker, leaving the camera to record what happens next. That sounds like any other hobby drone
launch, but it's a fiber optic cable controlled UAV. Now it's on its way to kill another group of young men. 12 months ago, a new wonder weapon took to the skies over Ukraine. Fiberoptic drones, which can't be jammed by electronic warfare, have caused havoc along and behind both sides of the front lines and have covered the landscape with their discarded cables. In part one of this film, I set out from Hakim, the witness in action of frontline fiber optic team from the acclaimed Hatia core. But 24 hours after arriving in a dugout close to the zero point, my assignment has been hindered so far by an unexpected enemy, the weather.
It's now late afternoon. And as you can probably hear, certainly see, the wind has really picked up. The wind speed is probably more than uh 20 m a second. Their only success was Pummer's victory in a game of chess. He's um conceded. Now we're in the morning of day two and still the unseasonal winds continue to blow. So we're in one of um Hatia's uh bunkers, one of their for their drone team. It's pretty secure. Probably withstand mortar hits. We've heard some mortars during the course of the day. We're sharing it with a couple of the large vampire attack and resupply drones. Uh it's very windy. You can hear
the wind even in this down here in the bunker. The deadly but delicate fiber optic drones are almost impossible to fly effectively in such condition. But after a visit from a suspected Russian kamicazi drone, the identification of a probable enemy drone dugout, and above all, the slackening of the gale, Pummer, Cuss, and Umbrella will be in action at last. Social media is filled with images of the last moments of successful kamicazi drone strikes. What you very rarely see is how the mission begins and is carried out, and of course, the frustration and failures, which happen far more often than the splashy kills.
This is what we saw. our view of the world. Beyond this is the trench. The uh netting is to camouflage the entrance from any drones and possibly also if a drone was to fly in to stop it before it reached uh any further into the dugout. It's a very nice summer's day. The wind speed is uh is still high. Well, it's now midday of the second day that I've been here. Still continues to be very windy. Um, there's uh the fiber optic drones cannot fly yet. I was woken up at 5:00 this morning by some kind of drone flying down our tree line loitering for a couple of minutes. It must have been quite a large one cuz I could hear it through the bunker ventilation. What I have noticed is the uh artillery falling
on the uh in this sector is increased in tempo. because I had a funny conversation with one of the guys here who said to me well about the weather and how nature so far has defeated the fiber optics optic drones is that um if Russia decides to conquer Europe then you British on your windy island have no need to worry about this wonder weapon you can hear the artillery for maybe any more than 10 days a year you're quite safe eventually my military escort Stass and are collected from our sleeping quarters by Puma. He leads us along the tree line to the fiber optic team's own dugout. This tree line has already been hit.
There are craters and an unexloded drone bomb beside the path. And the Russian front line is not far away. Both sides view the others five optic drone teams as priority targets. Sounds like a drone from a distance, but it's a generator in one of the targets. Friendly drone above us. There is a drone. I hope is right. And it is friendly. This is the sound I thought it was. She's a generator. Despite it being the middle of the summer, the wind remains autuminal.
I'm beginning to wonder if I will see the fiber optic drones fly at all. A lot of bunkers along here, but no troops because you can't stay in the open here. So close to the branches. I catch my body armor on the undergrowth as I pass. Inconsequential elsewhere, more a fraugh moment here in the kill zone. We reached the relative safety of the fiber optic dugout, but the high wind speed means we still have to wait for offensive action.
Meanwhile, Pummer and Stas smoke in the entrance tunnel. Pummer says his team dug the bunker by themselves using shovels. Like many other proud householder, he would like to expand his property by adding another room. What is the kind of uh maximum wind speed for their drones to be comfortable with? Up to 10 m a second. Yeah. No more. What do you think the wind speed is now? 10 15. Okay. So it's marginal. Yes. Maybe more. 15 or more.
Okay. So what is the longest mission that you have flown one of your fiber optics? Fiber optics it's uh 15 km. It's I mean the range now of fiber optics is really extending right but if uh low in low range it's a master the weight is uh is more is obviously yes you have to carry more cable yeah Two more hours pass in cramped confinement, during which time the wind speed drops at last to something like flyable conditions inside the dugout. Sudden activity. An order has come through from commander. It looks like an operation is on. Pummer has gone to ransack his munitions cash. Staff says it's high explosives. Now Puma attaches them to a fiber optic drone.
It will be hard to reach the place. He says, "Why is that? Umbrella explains the target is a kind of shelter, possibly a Russian drone dugger in the middle of a wood. It's just been bombed by a vampire heavy attack drone. But Commander Gleber isn't satisfied with the result. Worse, a limitation of the FPV drone is that it has a fixed camera. It can only see in the direction it's flying, not down at a target like this one. The fiber optic team have been just been told after almost two days of waiting there now because of high winds that the target for them has been identified. Uh I think it's some it's a Russian dugout in a wood forested area that's
already been attacked by a vampire heavy attack drone. Um the headquarters wants the uh fiber optic team to have another go at the target. um which is going to be quite difficult they say to find it because of um the tree cover and also branches brought down perhaps by the vampire um but um it seems like it's a definite launch. Huma continues to assemble his flying bomb. There is an urgency in his work. Meanwhile, Kus and Umbrella are viewing drone footage of the target area. A further reconnaissance will be needed before an attack is launched from here. That's the spot. They need That's the sound of a drone being successfully connected to the control panel and laptop completed. The film you can see on the laptop is what
the drone's camera is seeing. It's been activated. The cable is being taped along the side of the dugout tunnel so that it doesn't snag or doesn't get snagged. The cost is helping Puma guide the drone out into the open while keeping the fiber optic table cable intact. Without it, the drone obviously can't be controlled. Uh is Umbrella is going to be the pilot for this mission, right? Umbrellas. Yeah. He's wearing FPV goggles which allow him to see what the drone camera sees. It's as if he were piloting it from an onboard cockpit rather than remotely. So, the Mavic Reconnaissance drone, which is going to assist this mission,
is now in the air and is going to be um checking the route or establishing the route for the fiber optic drone. um Gus and Umbrella are watching the footage from the Mavic Recon drone as it heads towards the target area. The voice you can hear is from Commander Gleber's control room talking the drone crew through their route. Umbrella is looking at Mavic Recon drone footage of the target area. The dugout is in the clearing at the center of the screen. They begin to make a mission plan. The detail has to be meticulous as the target is obscured. The circled area contains the target.
Umbrella and cuffs are also aware of the challenges of flying a cablec controlled drone into the middle of a dense wood. A vampire has already attacked. It has knocked down at least one two small trees which have fallen over the dugout which is going to make the task of the fiber optic uh drone pilot umbrella um more difficult. They've been asked to go in and conduct a reconnaissance before the strike. But the um one of the issues with the fiber optics is if making sharp turns um inside a clearing, which is now what they're aiming at, um it could compromise the fiber optic cable. Um it's much better to go
straight in. So anyway, the Mavic reconnaissance drone is coming off the mission now and the fiber optic team will launch their own uh attack mission in approximately half an hour. Now Puma takes the fiber optic drone from the dugout to the launch site. He has to be very careful not to catch the delicate cable as it unwinds from the spool. It's a brave new world for everyone. This weapon did not exist a year ago. Puma has just dragged the drone's wooden launch frame from its hiding place. Now beyond the drone netting and into the open field. These are the moments of maximum jeopardy for him. Although you can hear some breeze, the wind speed has dropped significantly. The drone says it's ready to go.
they need uh another flight of Mavic to see this spot again and after that they will be flying. Um returns for a second visit to the launch site. on Ankus' laptop which is showing the drone feed. We can see we have liftoff. A fiber drone is heading for the Russian lines at last. So the mission is started. The fiber optic drone has taken off. Umbrella is piloting it. Help by um Buma um was at the launch and it's now I can see watching the film. It's flying over uh large meadows heading uh towards the uh front line. As the team talk to the command post, their drone is crossing the front line into Russian to Ukraine.
Suddenly, the drone wobbles slightly from its piloted path. That wind again, perhaps. The unfolding landscape on the laptop screen has a mesmerizing quality. The drone is approaching the target wood. So far so good. It's immune to Russian electronic warfare. a building which the pilots are using as a waypoint appears on the screen. Headquarters is also monitoring the drone feed and giving instruction. They will have watched and learned from the previous vampire drone attack. As the drone descends into the forest, the tension increases.
This is not ideal terrain for fiber optic cable drag. The drone team are itching to attack at once. Headquarters reminds them of their brief. The next part of the mission will be the most challenging. Umbrella continues to thread it literally between the tree trunks. The drone is now very close to the target, so it slows. Now the drone is almost at head height as if it were walking between the trees.
Poor little drone lost in the woods. But this is not a fairy tale. The drone is carrying high explosive, and the Russians in the dugger must be able to hear it approach by now. The control room still isn't sure they're going in the right direction. And then what they feared would happen happens. The fiber optic cable snags on the foliage and the drone tumbles out of control to the forest floor. The drone's explosives were remotely detonated. The team doesn't know yet whether it crashed onto its intended target. Certainly, it was close.
White smoke from the explosion can be seen rising from the clearing where the target is located. There's a brief postmortem with headquarters. Whatever. They have to attack again. Pummer is preparing the next drone for flight. You can see how little room there is down here. So the first drone reached the target clearing and as was instructed by the commander, it carried out a very low level and quite agonizing reconnaissance of the site passing between very narrow gaps of uh small trees. Um I think it reached um a second potential dugout. Uh as it did so it um I don't it got fouled. It got caught tangled in something and they detonated the
warhead. The order has come from the commander now to send out a second uh fiber optic kamicazi drone to uh try and take out the first dog. one way ticket. Pummer is preparing the second uh fiber electric drone for its mission which will take place as soon as um he's finished the launch will take place. This drone is carrying high explosive like the first. So you see this one is bigger than the regular. It's 10 in. One end of the fiber optic cable is drawn through the nozzle of the spool by CUS.
The other one is connected to the controller. The team want to relaunch and finish the mission as soon as possible. But there's another problem. The connection between the drone camera and the screen is not working. Without that connection, this drone cannot be launched. The team set about troubleshooting. They test the replacement spool only to find the problem remains. It must be the drone itself which is faulty. That's why I don't see myself, you know, as a drone guy because all these bugs
I wouldn't be able, you know, to fix all that stuff. Humor will have to start again demonstrating the intricacies and delicacy of these so-called wonder weapons. They first thought it was the spool, but both spools produced the first and second spool. They tried to produce the same results. So they decided it was the drone itself that was the problem. Puma is now swapping drones as fast as he can. Meanwhile, Umbrella and Cuss rather gloomily review the footage from the first attack on the enemy drone dugout. Puma's heard a drone. It's too quiet for the microphone to pick up. Do we know anything about the FPV that was outside?
They're not sure. Was it ours or attention now? Puma calls control to see if any friendlies are flying. The answer is no. But their own mission must continue. Puma connects it to the battery and the delicate process of teasing the fiber optic cable begins again. This is not relaxing. Pummer is grumbling as all soldiers do. Now the even more delicate task of taking the drone out to be launched without snagging the glistening cable. Umbrella is connected and ready to fly. slightly nervy as because in the last 25 minutes an a strange FPV drone very
audibly passed over our hideout and we're not entirely sure whether it was uh Russian or Ukrainian but uh something's out there. once again through the drone curtain. You can hear Pummer's heavy breathing. This is not an ordinary tales. This is cutting edge 2025 warfare in the roar. Exposed out in the field. His jeopardy is now 10fold. Now you can hear the evening crickets. The Russians want to kill pilots like Puma and the Russian lines are close. Puma gets tangled in the fiber optic cable. It's strong, but if damaged, the drone simply won't work.
Puma returns to the safety of his bunker, leaving the camera to record what happens next. But it's a fiber optic cabled control drone, the cutting edge. And now it's on its way to kill another group of young men who were also drone pilots. The drone's in flight and has just crossed the Russian lines. The command post now provides guidance to umbrella. The drone has almost reached the target wood. and now it's among the tops of the tallest trees. The danger of snagging the fiber optic cable is now very real. Every movement has to be carefully considered and executed. In the last second or two of the attack approach, The cable is snagged or snapped due to a sharp maneuver. The drone appears to
have fallen onto or very close to the target dugger. But I must go before I can learn the results of the latest mission. Worst part. Rotating out of position. A replacement vampire crew is incoming on a pickup and Stas and I must vacate their bunker and return to Haki. It's time we're taking the team's rubbish with us. One final dash through the forest. I've got all my kit and I'm not as young as I used to be.
Why otherwise would I be puffing like this through a Ukrainian wood at twilight? Curs is our guide. He has a bag of dugout rubbish which must be disposed of off somewhere else to avoid giving away their location. Hi. We meet another subterranean inhabitant of the wood. The first soldier I've seen other than the fiber optic team in almost two days. I suppose there must be infantry to hold the tree line. Now we're going off pie and Cuss is moving faster with his rubbish bag.
They move to this. Do you have any stuff left? Yeah, a couch and a sleeping bag. Back into the vampire dugger to pick up my coat and sleeping bag. Then on again is the car supposed to be there? Sorry. The atmosphere is as always on rotation, a little tense. The pickup arrives. It's a different driver this time, and we're still a long way from safety. We seem to be going very slowly. Too slowly for my liking, but by necessity, we're showing no lights. We're out of the most deadly sectors of the kill zone and back to where only the Russian Shahed pose a threat.
Our exclusive two-part Frontline documentary is dedicated to the memory of two soldiers from Hartier. Lieutenant Sergey Leinsky and Private Firstclass Vitali Pasco, who were killed in action since we filmed them.
