Kathrine Frich
Russia is facing growing pressure on military supplies for the war in Ukraine.
Several attacks on Russian infrastructure over the past two years have forced Moscow to rely more heavily on foreign partners to keep certain production lines running.
Factory still destroyed
Russia has failed to restore fiber-optic production at the Optikovolokonnye Systemy (OVS) factory in Saransk, according to Russian media reports cited by Wirtualna Polska.
The facility was destroyed by Ukrainian drone strikes in April and May 2024.
Production is not expected to resume until at least December 2027.
Until then, Russia must rely on imports of fiber-optic cables from China.
Drone demand surges
The shortage is particularly serious because fiber-optic cables are widely used to guide Russian FPV drones.
According to Defense Romania, imports of the cables from China have increased roughly tenfold.
Leonid Konik, cited by the publication, said the Saransk plant previously produced about 4 million kilometres of optical fiber every year.
The cables were supplied to around 20 Russian manufacturers.
Key battlefield technology
Analysts say the demand for fiber-optic cables has grown sharply because drones using this guidance system are harder to jam.
Defense Romania reported that fiber-optic controlled FPV drones can typically operate at ranges of around 20 kilometres.
This means large quantities of cable are required for continued drone operations.
According to Shen Chun, an analyst at China’s Fiber Optic Cable Research Center, Russia may have purchased about 10.5 percent of the world’s optical fiber production by 2025.
That equals roughly 60 million kilometres.
Prices soar
Russia now faces an additional challenge as prices for Chinese fiber-optic cables have surged.
Manufacturers in China have increased prices several times in recent months.
Last year, the commonly used G.652D fiber-optic cable cost about 16 yuan per kilometre.
By January 2026, the price had risen to around 40 yuan and has continued climbing since then.
The higher costs are now forcing Russian manufacturers to raise their own prices.
Sources: Wirtualna Polska, Defense Romania, Russian media reports
