June 2025 Update - UAO against Fiber Optic Drones!

Dear Supporters of Ukraine, 

As the war against Ukraine changes shape, UAO’s work faces new and deadly challenges: With the current fiber optic drone superiority of the Russians, new means of protection are needed to counteract this growing and dangerous threat. Fibre optic drones cannot be jammed by drone jammers, and alternatives, such as shotguns, fast vehicles, or protective nets are required against them. We are resolved to adapt to these shifts on the battlefield, with our latest “Anti Fiber Optic Drone” fundraiser as a first step.

June brought important changes, not only on the fundraising side, but also with new collaborations and delivering substantial quantities of equipment to the brave defenders of Ukraine. In this newsletter, you can read about:

• Our new UAO x CVR fundraiser, dedicated to defence against fibre optic drones
• UAO’s recent collaboration with the Preston Stewart community, including deliveries
• A vehicle delivery to the International Legion

Your UAO Volunteer Team

Donate here for Defence against Fiber Optic Drones

Defence against fibre optic drones - a joint UAO and CVR fundraiser

While making deliveries along the front lines, the UAO ground team was faced with the latest lethal threat - Russian fibre optic FPV drones. While these drones, which do not rely on radio signal transmission, and are therefore immune to drone jammers, have been in use for some time, their impact in recent months has noticeably increased. Russia currently has an advantage in that area, with increasing availability and reach, and with rumours of a reach up to 40 kilometres already circulating. Fields along the front lines are already covered with a spider web of dispensed fibre optic threads, and the defenders of Ukraine find it increasingly hard to hold positions. In a nutshell, fibre optic drones are yet another rapid battlefield technology innovation, and Ukraine must catch up fast.

While volunteer organisations like UAO gladly continue supporting as many units as possible with FPV and surveillance drones, with portable power stations, and even cars, we and Combat Veteran Reacts decided to do something to counter this most recent development, and dedicate our newest substantial fundraiser to it, supporting the brave defenders of Ukraine in three ways - to shoot down, to move, and to defend (If you are in Europe, please consider to donate via our €-account which is mentioned on the Donorbox page).

1. Defence
The best defence is to prevent drone launches in the first place. Identifying Russian drone launch sites and eliminating the attacker’s equipment is the best strategy, akin to the old adage - shoot the archer, not the arrow. Therefore, Ukrainian troops need a constant supply of fiber-optic drones with a 30 km and possibly higher range, which UAO will provide.

Shotguns are used to shoot down drones that penetrate defences, but attacking enemy drones close by is an intensely nerve-wrecking task. With a collimator sight (an illuminated red aiming point, hence the moniker “red dot”) mounted to a shotgun, soldiers are able to take aim faster and shoot down enemy drones more reliably, saving precious lives. UAO has already supplied 500 “red dots”, and aims to increase supply with the present campaign even further.

2. Move
Minimising exposure to enemy drones is critical. In wooded and difficult terrain, ATVs like quad-bikes can transport fighters to and from positions far more quickly - reducing the need for often 10 km or even longer walks in full gear.

3. Cover
Deploying nets to camouflage against or to entangle enemy drones - across vital supply roads, in tree lines, above trenches - reduces exposure and saves lives. For that purpose, UAO co-operates with Dutch organisations Heaven's Shield, De Leeuw Kyiv, Eyes on Ukraine & Life Guardians. On pick-up trucks, shrapnel-resistant kevlar spray, sometimes combined with "cope cages," offers protection while allowing for higher mobility than heavy full steel armor allows. UAO aims to provide both types of protection.

Donate here for Defence against Fiber Optic Drones

Together with several partners, we started to provide large anti-drone nets for positions and roads

Preston Stewart’s community supports UAO - “It’s truly an honor to be able to assist”

UAO remains dedicated to raising funds for the defenders of Ukraine, but the sheer scale of the task means that it is not always possible to do it alone. To reach more supporters of Ukraine, we regularly receive support from very popular social media communities that help us to spread the word. In the past, we already worked with “Ukraine Matters”, “Suchomimus”, “Anna from Ukraine” or, with our most recent campaign, “Combat Veteran Reacts”.

Just now, we received support from yet another well-known supporter of Ukraine: Preston Stewart. Preston, who runs a popular YouTube channel, among other social media presences, has followed the events in Ukraine since the Russian full-scale invasion began in 2022: “I started making videos in 2020, focused on military history, but have always been interested in following current events. When the full scale invasion began in 2022, I noticed a lot of people wanting to understand what was happening, but not knowing the various terms being thrown around in the news. I began to explain simple things like what is a Javelin, what does air defense mean, etc., and it seemed to catch on. From thereon, I dedicated more and more time to helping people understand the war as it continued.”

Under the motto Preston's Ground and Air Drones, his community raised over $93,000 for critical ground and surveillance drones. Asked about why he supports Ukraine and its defenders, he explained his motives: “Over the past few years I’ve been fortunate to meet and interact with a number of Ukrainian soldiers, civilians and foreign volunteers. I saw quite a few of them working to raise funds for their units, and how critical some of those purchases were to saving lives. I’ve had more and more audience members ask about trustworthy sources to donate to, so it felt like the right thing to try to bridge that gap. It’s truly an honor to be able to assist in any way, shape or form.

Preston’s efforts certainly had a huge impact on the battlefield. Below, you can already see our first deliveries enabled by his fundraiser:

The 3rd Assault Brigade received a powerful ground drone as well as three Mavic 3 Pro Drones and two Mavic 3T drones, including spare batteries

The soldiers from the 5th Assault Brigade received four Mavic 3 daytime drones and one Mavic 3T thermal vision drone for surveillance operations in the dark

A heartfelt surprise for the Foreign Legion fighters

So, a little story from the field that left us smiling for days. We received a request from a fighter in the Foreign Legion — could we supply soldiers foodstuffs that could be kept at positions? Turns out, they’re stationed far from civilization, and resupply is complicated. As we had just received a fresh shipment of boxes of food from the Netherlands, we were happy to share. But then came the tricky part: getting the supplies to them. Their logistics situation was difficult, the nearest post office remote, not in reach on a daily basis. We wondered how any team could operate in a situation like that. As luck would have it, two German volunteers had just dropped off a trusty Subaru Forester that we bought. Old, but 4WD and reliable. Cars, not surprisingly, are in constant demand, and we wanted to make sure that the one we now had on our hands went to a trustworthy unit.

We asked contacts in our network, and the responses were positive - a reliable unit, stuck in a tough spot. So we reached out with a message: “Hey, we might have a car for you - old Forester, petrol engine, but solid. Think this could help your situation?” The response was as expected. “Yes please! This vehicle would make a huge difference for us. Transport has honestly been one of our biggest challenges, and having a car like this would solve a major part of that.” We arranged the handover - car and food together. Felt good, really good. Afterwards, they sent us a video of a fully loaded fridge and a message: “The way you responded so quickly and sent what we needed without hesitation - it honestly left us speechless. In a place and time where every second counts, your support doesn’t just help - it gives us strength. You’ve helped more than you can imagine - not just materially, but emotionally too.” Moments like that - they stick with you.

Donate here for Defence against Fiber Optic Drones

The UAO team supplied a Subaru Forester to fighters of the International Legion

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

Sincerely, the UAO volunteer team. 

Heroyam Slava!