Dear Supporters of Ukraine,

With Russian air terror in the form of Shahed drones, ballistic missiles and fiber FPVs having reached a new height, the situation in Ukraine remains tense. While more and more initiatives have started to mass produce interceptor drones in order to fight this danger, our UAO team focuses in particular on protection for our brave frontline units is the form of protective nets, detection systems, as well as means to shoot down incoming FPVs. The daily messages from frontline soldiers about the effectiveness of the delivered life-saving equipment gives us great confidence to continue on this path.

Donate here: https://donorbox.org/ukraine-air-ops

On a further positive note, the US government seems to have finally realized that Russia was playing with them, so there is at least a small (yet unsure) hope the pressure will finally be increased in a more coordinated way. Until this manifests, it is up to us supporters of Ukraine to voice and show our support.

In this UAO July 2025 newsletter, you can read about:

• UAO Frontline report: Critical quads, anti-drone nets and fiber FPVs arriving in Ukraine
• Victory Gallery Summer Sale (20% Discount)
• Know the gear - Fiber-optic drones
• Silicon Valley supports Ukraine (business campaign)

Your UAO Volunteer Team

Frontline report - UAO supplies more quads, anti-drone nettings and fiber FPV drones

In June, together with UAO, YouTube channel “Combat Veteran Reacts” launched “Total Defence Against Drones”, an urgent fundraiser to protect frontline units from devastating assaults by fiber-optic drones, which have become the most serious threat on the battlefield, see the “Know the gear” article below.

We are excited to report that, thanks to your unwavering support, over €150.000 have been donated to date, bringing us closer to our goal to raise €200.000. In recent weeks, we have been hard at work to source and purchase the necessary equipment, much of which has already arrived in Ukraine or is currently en route. The following items are part of the fundraiser’s first delivery phase:

• 10 brand-new quad-bikes with trailers
• 72 collimator sights (“red dots”) for use with anti-drone rifles
• 10 Autel 4N drones equipped with special features that render them more effective at detecting fiber-optic drones and their launch sites, compared to standard thermal vision drones
• 1,200 kilometers (!) of optical fiber
• Parts for large FPV drones
• 20 fully assembled fiber-optic drones with ground stations
• Special equipment for developing new detection and elimination technologies for fiber-optic drones
• Two truckloads of tulip protection nets for building physical drone obstruction structures

Some of the above has already been delivered to frontline units, including the Lyut and 79th Air Assault Brigade (see photos below), while the rest will be distributed in the coming weeks, just in time to provide vital support during Russia’s ongoing summer offensive.

To fully cover all purchases planned with this on-going fundraiser and, if possible, make additional purchases, we still need to reach our fundraising target. Every contribution makes a difference, and we are deeply grateful for your continued support.

Donate here: https://donorbox.org/uao-cvr-drone-protect

The Lyut Brigade and paratroopers from the 79th Brigade received, among other items, fiber-optic FPV drones to fight against enemy drone teams

A closer look at protective nets

With the front line skies saturated by FPV drones, well up to 20 kilometres into the hinterland, vital supply roads, but also infantry dugouts and artillery caponiers must be protected from aerial assaults more than ever. Physical barriers work where EW jamming fails, especially against fibre-optic drones, and for some time, entire logistics routes are transformed into transparent “mesh-tunnels”, netting draped across poles on all three sides, to protect all kinds of vehicles, the soldiers, and the wounded. Netting entangles drones or snags propellers, and buys valuable time for shooting them down or escaping. This is why trawling, construction and agriculture nets are in great demand. We are happy to cooperate with the Dutch organisations Heaven's Shield, De Leeuw Kviv, Life Guardians, and Eyes on Ukraine to provide all kinds of nets to the most embattled zones.

Not the new UAO delivery truck, but an IFV of the 25th Airborne Brigade. We delivered Mavic drones and other equipment, and Yuri and Yakov were allowed to have a short test ride

 

Victory Gallery - 2025 summer sale

Only recently UAO’s popular Victory Gallery crossed an amazing threshold: Since 2022, we have raised over $1 million through sales of artworks made from battlefield debris to fund the purchase of drones, drone jammers, generators and more for the defenders of Ukraine. To celebrate this outstanding milestone, we offer you a 20% discount for all Victory Gallery orders over $250 with the code: SUMMER2025. It remains valid until 4th August and also applies to purchases made from our UAO shop.

Among other items, the shop features brand new artworks dedicated to “Operation Spiderweb”, Ukraine’s spectacular clandestine drone assault campaign that destroyed or damaged a third of Russia’s strategic bomber aircraft. The proceeds from the sales will go to the purchase of more urgently needed drones. Particularly Mavic and Autel surveillance drones are in high demand, and your purchases from the UAO shop and Victory Gallery will help to protect the lives of all soldiers that continue holding the line.

Donate here: https://ukraineaidops.org/pages/gallery

Many new artworks, made from repurposed battlefield remains, are now available from the Victory Gallery

This unit from the Azov Brigade received urgently needed Mavic drones from UAO, as well as thermal vision devices and a Starlink terminal - bought from your Victory Gallery contributions

Know the gear - fiber-optic drones

As part of our occasional newsletter series “Know the gear”, we provide some details about the equipment we supply, so that you know what we do with your donations. This month: Fiber-optic drones.

How do they work?

Fiber‑optic drones are FPV (first‑person‑view) attack or reconnaissance drones that are physically connected to their pilot’s controller by a long, ultrathin spool of fiber‑optic cable instead of using a radio signal. The cable unrolls behind the drone as it flies, carrying both the video feed and control signals. Fiber-optic drones first appeared early March 2024, used by Russia; Ukraine followed suit in later autumn that year. So far, the success rate for reaching and hitting the designated target is reported to be around 50%, while with conventional RF controlled drones, it is around 30% at best.

Control: Immune to EW interception, fiber-optic control delivers a superior  high-bandwidth video image to the pilot, together with excellent maneuverability until the moment of impact. Also, RF overloading, interference with signal transmission from many drones using the same frequency band, from buildings and terrain, is not an issue.

Interception: Fiber-optic drones are immune to EW systems and cannot be jammed. Only severing the cable between pilot and drone (or shooting them down, for example, with shotguns) can stop them.

Stealth: Without powerful RF transmitters, passive detector triangulation of the pilot’s position is no longer possible, and so they are much better protected from assaults.

Range: Current Ukrainian spools usually go from 10 to 15 kilometres (with newer models occasionally reaching even further), with Russian models reported at 20 to 40 km, well enough to hit frontline targets, rear positions, and staging areas.

Tradeoffs: The cable could snag or even tear, and the spool housing with 10 - 30 kilometers of cable adds considerable weight to the drone, so they have to be flown differently.

Unfortunately, Russia had a considerable head start deploying this technology, and currently has the upper hand in fiber-optic drone warfare. It already produces the components on an industrial scale, co-ordinated by the government, with parts supplied by its unofficial ally China. Ukraine is now racing to catch up, trying to ramp up volume production at home - for use in the most EW-jammed battlespace on Earth.

UAO provides regular and fiber FPVs in particular from our ongoing drone fundraiser. You can support by making a one-time or monthly donation:

Donate here: https://donorbox.org/ukraine-air-ops

Just recently, we supplied additional fiber-optic cable spools to frontline drone units

UAO launches “Silicon Valley supports Ukraine” campaign

We are happy to announce the launch of a new campaign, aimed at Californian businesses, specifically those residing in Silicon Valley. We have seen that people from that region show enormous support for Ukraine and its on-going fight for freedom and prosperity. Therefore - if you come from California or know somebody who might be interested - we kindly ask you to join our latest campaign, supporting Ukraine’s valiant defenders on the front lines. Companies from the Silicon Valley (and beyond) can show their support in various ways:

• Buying from a selection of unique artworks, made from repurposed battlefield remains, from UAO’s Victory Gallery shop
• Donating money, stocks or cryptocurrencies, and receive a commemorative sign for their company HQ in return
• Becoming a sponsor of one of our upcoming fundraisers
• Or all of the above

Please contact Greg Leonard at greg@ukraineaidops.org or see the campaign details right here, in case you have any questions: https://donorbox.org/siliconvalley4ukraine

Thank you for standing strong with Ukraine. Together we will win this war!

Sincerely, the UAO volunteer team. 

Heroyam Slava!