Marines Evaluate Fiber-Optic FPV Drones

May 1, 2026

Defense Innovation Unit
Mountain View, CA
www.diu.mil

U.S. Marines with Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) partnered with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and industry professionals, during a three-day event in January, to evaluate first-person view small uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) that use fiber optic cables, marking the U.S. Marine Corps’ first field evaluation of the technology for sUAS employment in contested environments.

The three-day assessment focused on “ready now” FPV drone solutions designed to maintain command-and-control and video feeds when radio-frequency links are degraded. Unlike traditional UAS that rely on wireless signals, fiber optic cables provide a physical data connection between the operator and the aircraft, reducing vulnerability to electronic warfare and enabling more reliable employment in denied environments.

The evaluation brought together Marines from 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion and 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, with I MEF coordinating the event alongside DIU as part of Project G.I.. Participating vendors included Auterion, Kraken, ModalAI, Neros, and Nokturnal AI, with support from Contact Front Technologies.

During the event, Marines evaluated systems based on how quickly operators could transport, set up and employ the aircraft while wearing full combat equipment, as well as the durability of controllers, displays and supporting equipment. Marines also assessed how effectively each platform integrated with tactical command-and-control tools and how reliably the fiber optic cable performed during over-water control and data transmission. The over-water flights marked the U.S. Marine Corps’ first deliberate over-water evaluation of fiber-optic cable performance for FPV sUAS.

“A fiber optic cable connected to an attack drone gives the ground force commander more options when it comes to precision fires in a GPS or communications-denied environment,” said 1st Lt. Kienan Morrissey, an intelligence officer with 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion who directly supported the evaluations. “Operator-to-vendor feedback is critical in this phase of the evaluation to ensure drone systems are mission capable, continuously improved and lethal in the hands of the end users.”

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