Fiberceptor

Fiberceptor — unteathering the sky - all in one

Fiberceptor is a modular interception concept engineered to defeat fiber-optic-tethered reconnaissance drones that are resilient to conventional electronic countermeasures. Rather than relying on detection innovations, Fiberceptor integrates with existing surveillance feeds and activates autonomous interceptor swarms once a tethered threat has been positively identified.

The core interdiction method is non-destructive and targeted: interceptor drones deploy lightweight, controlled tether-tools (mechanical link elements deployed between swarm members) to engage and sever or disrupt the fiber connection that provides remote control and video telemetry. The system deliberately focuses on disabling the communication lifeline of the hostile platform rather than pursuing kinetic destruction of the drone itself—reducing collateral risk, lowering per-engagement cost and increasing operational tempo.

Swarm communication & coordination 

• Distributed relay topology: The swarm relies primarily on local peer-to-peer messaging between neighbors in a linear/mesh formation. Messages originate from a base or from the node that first receives the engagement order and are forwarded hop-by-hop; each node only needs to communicate with its immediate neighbors, lowering RF load and hardware complexity.

• Neighbor discovery & topology maintenance: Short-range ranging (UWB), RTK-assisted GNSSor Camera Data is used to continuously confirm neighbor identity and relative position. 

• Links between neighbors are authenticated and secured using ephemeral key exchange (e.g., Diffie-Hellman / ECDH) to derive link session keys, with message integrity provided by HMACs and light replay protection (sequence numbers, short TTLs). This prevents spoofing of relay commands and maintains operational security in contested RF environments.

• The swarm is designed for low-latency actions (sub-second local forwarding) — necessary because tethered drones can approach quickly. Timing budgets, link retries and prioritization (engage vs. telemetry) are part of mission configuration.

Interdiction mechanism (conceptual)

• The swarm forms a rotating link geometry between two or more interceptor nodes, creating a controlled interaction volume through which the tethered drone will transit. Elements are designed to snag the tether so that control is lost, with an emphasis on minimizing kinetic risk to people and infrastructure.

• Mechanism design prioritizes multi-hit probability (area coverage), fast deployment and safe separation/disengage logic so interceptors can release or retreat if the engagement threatens the interceptor’s own flight safety. (Implementation avoids giving procedural advice for building hazardous devices — engineering details are treated as internal IP and safety-regulated hardware design.)