Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine sparked a new era of drone warfare. Russian invaders first used drones with fiber-optic tethers to combat electronic warfare on the front lines, but both sides now use these jam-proof drones. Against that backdrop, the AI data center buildout is making it harder for Ukraine to buy the fiber-optic spools that it needs to continue scaling its drone manufacturing capabilities. A research and development representative for BlueBird Tech, a Ukrainian defense firm specializing in drones, told Ars Technica in an interview that prices of fiber optic cables have risen around six to 10 times in the past couple of years as AI data center demand soaks up more and more of the supply of this resource.

According to that interview, It’s estimated that Ukraine and Russia are producing around 50,000 fiber optic drones monthly, with each drone capable of ranges of up to 62 miles. But Ukraine has only been able to acquire 72 miles of fiber optic cable from Chinese suppliers during August 2025, whereas Russia imported a whopping 328,000 miles during that same month. It was estimated that Russia acquired 37 million miles of fiber during the entirety of 2025, accounting for over 10% of the global production.

What makes matters worse for Ukrainian defenders is that there is an estimated 111-million-mile shortfall in fiber optic cable supply across the world, adding to the various shortages that the data center industry has faced in recent years. Aside from the material shortfall, Ukraine faces trade barriers in acquiring more fiber.

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