The U.S. Navy has completed a two-week experiment in Alpena, Michigan, testing uncrewed aerial systems and unmanned surface vessels during Silent Swarm 25, an exercise that focused on swarming electronic warfare tactics and the use of autonomous platforms in future conflicts.
According to the Navy, last month, participants used Silent Swarm to “experiment with emerging technologies and operational concepts involving autonomous systems and spectrum maneuvering.” Among the systems evaluated was a drone controlled through a fiber-optic tether, a concept that has already demonstrated battlefield value in Ukraine and Russia’s ongoing war.
Unlike conventional drones that rely on radio communications, fiber-optic uncrewed aerial vehicles use a physical cable link, making them resistant to electronic warfare jamming. This feature proved decisive in Ukraine, where both sides have heavily employed drones for surveillance and attack missions.
Russia was the first to field fiber-optic first-person-view drones in the conflict, deploying a model known as the “Prince Vandal of Novgorod” in August 2024 in the Kursk region. The drone was used to disrupt Ukrainian supply convoys and attack frontline positions, exploiting its resistance to radio interference. Ukrainian forces found that their electronic warfare units could jam nearly all Russian drones except those connected by fiber-optic lines.
The emergence of the “Prince Vandal” forced Ukraine to accelerate its own development programs. By mid-2024, Ukrainian defense officials and military incubators issued urgent calls to domestic drone manufacturers, stating that fiber-optic FPV drones were “urgently needed” and that the government was ready to procure them in large numbers. Ukrainian special operations forces encountered these drones during cross-border raids in the summer of 2024, an experience that reinforced the need for rapid innovation.
For Ukraine, the gap was striking. Though the country had taken the lead in many drone technologies earlier in the war, in this case its industry was forced to catch up quickly. Ukrainian units eventually fielded their own tethered drones, but the episode underscored the speed with which new technologies can shift the balance in modern warfare.
Silent Swarm 25 suggests that the United States is closely watching those developments. By integrating fiber-optic drones into its experimentation cycle, the Navy is signaling interest in adapting the concept to its own operational needs. The Alpena drills included scenarios where uncrewed systems could be employed in swarming attacks, electronic warfare roles, and persistent surveillance under contested conditions.
The Navy described the exercise as part of a broader effort to test how autonomous systems might expand the reach and resilience of U.S. forces. The ability to maneuver in the electromagnetic spectrum and withstand enemy jamming is becoming increasingly central to combat effectiveness, particularly as potential adversaries improve their electronic warfare capabilities.
While no final decisions on procurement or deployment have been announced, Silent Swarm 25 provided an opportunity for sailors and engineers to assess the operational advantages of tethered drones and unmanned vessels. The experiment also demonstrated how battlefield innovations seen in Ukraine are informing U.S. defense planning.