News
Russia increased its imports of optical fiber tenfold in 2025, according to a report by the business publication Vedomosti, citing Chun Shen, an analyst at the Research Center for Fiber-Optic Cables at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications. By Chun’s estimates, Russia bought 10.5% of all optical fiber produced worldwide over the course of 2025. In previous years, that figure did not exceed 1%.
In absolute terms, Russia used 60 million kilometers of optical fiber in 2025, sourcing it from China, which accounts for about 60% of global output. As demand has climbed, Chinese prices have risen sharply. In early 2025, G.652D fiber used in telecom cables cost 16 yuan ($2.34) per kilometer, but by January 2026 the price was 40 yuan ($5.84) per kilometer.
Russia has one plant that produces optical fiber, Optic Fiber Systems JSC, or OFS, based in the city of Saransk. After aerial attacks by Ukrainian forces in April and May of last year, the company ceased operations. Leonid Konik, CEO of ComNews Group, said that since then all optical fiber used in the country has been coming from China.
The Insider has previously reported that Russia’s military uses optical fiber to control drones. Fiber-optic drones known as Hortensia (Gortenziya) and KVN were showcased at Russia’s Army-2024 exhibition. Alexei Chadaev, head of the Ushkuynik Scientific and Production Center, which developed the KVN, said in September 2024 that the drone had been used nearly 1,000 times, adding that it had targeted armored vehicles, radar stations, electronic warfare systems, and strongpoints. “The drone is heavy and unwieldy because it carries both a spool and a warhead, but if you get used to it, it is very accurate. The accuracy is the result of a high-quality and stable picture,” Chadaev said.
As of April last year, Russia was producing approximately 50,000 fiber-optic drones per month.