‘Cerberus': Russia's drone swarm truck to steer 12 fiber-linked UAVs in future wars
Cerberus is a Russian military project, which intends to develop a platform which can manage six to 12 unmanned aerial vehicles. The work on it is being carried out by designers in Russia who are planning to unveil the platform by mid-2025.
As per reports, the plan is to unveil the platform in August at the 'Army 2025' forum, which will be held with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense, in the Moscow region.
The designers from Stary Oskol are working on the Cerberus project, according to a report by the Russian independent news agency Izvestia.
The report states that the fiber optical fiber controlled drones will be likely very compact in size. They will be housed within modular compartments in the mobile platform – which will sit atop a truck chassis.
The report suggests that the first model will likely contain six to 12 drones, with the ability to launch and control them all at once. The control can be either manual or through artificial intelligence systems that will make the job of the forces a lot easier.
The AI will also make it easy for the drone swarms to function in pairs, with one carrying out intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), while the other UAVs can attack the desired targets.
It also mentions that the drone swarms operated by AI can be used to target aircraft, fire thermal charges, and work together as an additional layer for air defense.
The Cerberus is intended to work as a base for the small UAVs. It will offer a place where drones can be stored, charged, and also act as a command center. The integration of AI will make it even more efficient – giving it a sort of 'fire and forget' kind of mechanism, with manual intervention only needed in case something goes off target.
Earlier last year, during the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war the forces from Moscow had unveiled the first fiber-optic drones.
The fiber-optic drones had been unleashed as a result of the electronic warfare techniques deployed by Ukraine. The fiber-optic drones were claimed to be resistant to radio jamming as it depended on fiber optics to communicate while in operations.
Developed by the Ushkuynik Scientific and Production Center in Novgorod, the new weapon can destroy its target without being affected by radio jamming. Details shared by the Russian military Telegram channel Siberian Army on August 18 reveal that the drone is reportedly called 'Prince Vandal of Novgorod.'
Reports had mentioned that Ukraine was also working on similar ideas and it too could field a fiber-optic UAV in the days ahead.
However, the ability to control drone swarms through fiber optics could be a bigger and better mechanism in the battlefield. It remains to be seen if the truck chassis - on which the platform sits – will itself be an unmanned variant or not.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Axios
7 hours ago
- Axios
Joby and L3Harris will fly military VTOL aircraft this year
Joby Aviation and L3Harris Technologies are collaborating on an optionally manned vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. Why it matters: The previously undisclosed project will undergo real-world testing shortly. It's expected to fly this fall and is scheduled for military demonstrations next year. Driving the news: Paul Sciarra, Joby's executive chairman, told Axios the aircraft is designed with contested logistics, counter-drone and electronic warfare applications in mind. "We and L3 both think something that is smaller; something that has adaptable payloads for a wide range of mission types, just like helicopters do; and something that has the ability to go full autonomous and work in collaboration with other assets is very likely the future of low-altitude aviation across the branches," he said. Zoom in: It's the first time the two companies are working together on an effort like this. Joby brings its aircraft development and manufacturing capabilities to the table. L3Harris brings its sensing, communications and autonomy expertise. Sciarra, Joby's first outside investor, described L3Harris as an "especially nimble prime." It's the 10th largest defense contractor in the world when ranked by defense-related revenue, according to Defense News analysis. Zoom out: Demand for drones and other smart machinery is only growing. The Russia-Ukraine war is accelerating government purchases and industry investment. Joby last summer acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, which previously conducted autonomous cargo delivery for the Air Force using a modified Cessna. The bottom line: "The next-generation of vertical lift technology enables long-range, crewed-uncrewed teaming for a range of missions," Jon Rambeau, L3Harris' president of integrated mission systems, said in a statement.
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan Ministry of Defense's Air Self-Defense Force Powers Cloud Content Management with Box
TOKYO, August 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX), the leading Intelligent Content Management (ICM) platform, today announced that the Japan Ministry of Defense's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) has selected and is deploying Box to power secure cloud content management and collaboration across its operations. With Box, ASDF can securely share information both internally and externally with affiliated agencies and partners, enabling close knowledge sharing between units. The ASDF plays a critical role in national defense by maintaining airspace security and supporting disaster relief efforts throughout Japan. In addition, the ASDF has an urgent need to digitize and automate its operations, and to integrate and streamline its information systems to counter recent sophisticated cyber-attacks, human resource constraints and the rapidly changing security environment. Until now, on-premise file servers were installed at each of the 73 bases across the country, but while stored securely, these servers faced capacity issues, created management and other workload burdens, and placed barriers to collaboration and access to content. With the introduction of Box, the entire 47,000-plus workforce will improve productivity and operational efficiency in a state-of-the-art digital environment, all with enhanced security and capacity. Key use cases with Boxes include: A secure collaboration environment for the vast amount of information and documents handled by the ASDF Improved business efficiency and security through extensive integration Detailed access rights control and trail management of various logs (activity logs, audit logs, etc.) Centralized content management (including advanced administrative document management) "As government agencies are considering cloud services (e.g. SaaS) as their first choice in accordance with the cloud-by-default principle to improve organizational capabilities, public service and safety, the Ministry of Defense, Air Self-Defense Force is also enhancing its mission capability with Box's intelligent content management platform," says Noriyuki Sato, President at Box Japan. "We will continue to support the powerful combination of content plus AI built into Box, and contribute to the digital transformation of our customers in Japan as the leading platform for protecting enterprise content." Box is FedRAMP High certified and registered with the Security Rating System for Government Information Systems (ISMAP) in Japan, and its reliability has been proven by government organizations around the world, including NASA and the US Air Force. About Box Box (NYSE:BOX) is the leader in Intelligent Content Management. Our platform enables organizations to fuel collaboration, manage the entire content lifecycle, secure critical content, and transform business workflows with enterprise AI. Founded in 2005, Box simplifies work for leading global organizations, including AstraZeneca, JLL, Morgan Stanley, and Nationwide. Box is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Visit to learn more. And visit to learn more about how Box empowers nonprofits to fulfill their missions. View source version on Contacts Box CommsMisato Sahopress@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japan Ministry of Defense's Air Self-Defense Force Powers Cloud Content Management with Box
TOKYO, August 01, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Box, Inc. (NYSE: BOX), the leading Intelligent Content Management (ICM) platform, today announced that the Japan Ministry of Defense's Air Self-Defense Force (ASDF) has selected and is deploying Box to power secure cloud content management and collaboration across its operations. With Box, ASDF can securely share information both internally and externally with affiliated agencies and partners, enabling close knowledge sharing between units. The ASDF plays a critical role in national defense by maintaining airspace security and supporting disaster relief efforts throughout Japan. In addition, the ASDF has an urgent need to digitize and automate its operations, and to integrate and streamline its information systems to counter recent sophisticated cyber-attacks, human resource constraints and the rapidly changing security environment. Until now, on-premise file servers were installed at each of the 73 bases across the country, but while stored securely, these servers faced capacity issues, created management and other workload burdens, and placed barriers to collaboration and access to content. With the introduction of Box, the entire 47,000-plus workforce will improve productivity and operational efficiency in a state-of-the-art digital environment, all with enhanced security and capacity. Key use cases with Boxes include: A secure collaboration environment for the vast amount of information and documents handled by the ASDF Improved business efficiency and security through extensive integration Detailed access rights control and trail management of various logs (activity logs, audit logs, etc.) Centralized content management (including advanced administrative document management) "As government agencies are considering cloud services (e.g. SaaS) as their first choice in accordance with the cloud-by-default principle to improve organizational capabilities, public service and safety, the Ministry of Defense, Air Self-Defense Force is also enhancing its mission capability with Box's intelligent content management platform," says Noriyuki Sato, President at Box Japan. "We will continue to support the powerful combination of content plus AI built into Box, and contribute to the digital transformation of our customers in Japan as the leading platform for protecting enterprise content." Box is FedRAMP High certified and registered with the Security Rating System for Government Information Systems (ISMAP) in Japan, and its reliability has been proven by government organizations around the world, including NASA and the US Air Force. About Box Box (NYSE:BOX) is the leader in Intelligent Content Management. Our platform enables organizations to fuel collaboration, manage the entire content lifecycle, secure critical content, and transform business workflows with enterprise AI. Founded in 2005, Box simplifies work for leading global organizations, including AstraZeneca, JLL, Morgan Stanley, and Nationwide. Box is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Visit to learn more. And visit to learn more about how Box empowers nonprofits to fulfill their missions. View source version on Contacts Box CommsMisato Sahopress@
