Iranian-backed Iraqi militias have deployed a new type of attack drone against American forces in Baghdad — one guided by a thin fiber-optic wire instead of a radio signal, making it invisible to the electronic jammers that are the military's primary defense against unmanned aircraft.
Video released by the militias showed first-person-view drones diving into an American Black Hawk helicopter and an air-defense radar system at a U.S. base, "Hvylya" reports, citing The Wall Street Journal.
The fiber-optic guidance makes these weapons particularly dangerous. Because the control signal travels through a physical wire rather than over radio frequencies, no amount of electronic jamming can break the connection between the pilot and the aircraft. Russia pioneered this technology during its campaign to retake the Ukrainian-controlled Kursk region in late 2024 and has since shared it with Tehran.
"Any U.S. boots on the ground or warships in the Gulf will be 'close in' targets, and FPV drone use will be part of both sides' capabilities," said Martin Sampson, a retired Royal Air Force air marshal who heads the Middle East branch of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Sampson warned that American forces heading to the region do not appear to carry antidrone equipment on their vehicles or landing craft — protections that have become standard in Ukraine. "Iran has to have anticipated this weakness and gained understanding from Russia on what this means and how it can be exploited," he said.
The Pentagon declined to comment. Central Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Middle East, also declined to address how Iran was adopting lessons from the war in Ukraine.
Earlier, "Hvylya" reported on how Zelensky pitched Ukraine's drone expertise to the Gulf states as the Iran crisis escalated.