Ukraine Is Using Signal Repeater Drones to Help Operators Send Mission Aircraft Further

How airborne relays work

A signal repeater drone flies between an operator and a mission drone. It passes commands to the mission aircraft and sends video and intelligence back, helping maintain contact over longer distances.

Because airborne repeaters can fly higher than ground antennas, they can extend a drone’s range and help keep its connection under pressure. The approach works on a principle similar to a Wi-Fi repeater.

The relay can also strengthen communications against Russian electronic warfare, making the link harder to disrupt. But the repeater itself can still be targeted.

Twist Robotics adapts Saker Scout

Ukrainian arms maker Twist Robotics developed a repeater version of its Saker Scout drone, which had been used for reconnaissance and strike operations. Co-founder and chief information officer Rostyslav Olenchyn said the fast-changing war put the aircraft at risk of becoming outdated without modifications.

Olenchyn said the Saker Scout’s range was “not enough” for many missions. He said the drone was redesigned “for another objective. It became the signal relay station.” The company says the Saker Scout can extend other drones’ operational range by more than 50 kilometers. Serial production of the relay configuration began in 2023, Olenchyn said. Twist Robotics’ Signal Hunter strike drone can also serve as a relay.

More Ukrainian relay designs

Other Ukrainian companies are modifying existing drones or building aircraft specifically for signal relaying. Roboneers made a Wardog version able to carry relay equipment weighing up to three kilograms, while Skyriper’s Skyriper-R is designed solely as an airborne repeater.

TAF Industries CEO Volodymyr Zinovskyi told Business Insider that his company began making relay drones last year at the request of military units. He described the technology as changing from optional to essential.

Ukraine’s state-backed innovation platform Brave1 wrote last year that long-distance flights and difficult terrain call for repeaters to improve stable signal range. Some drones are built for relay work; others can carry add-on equipment.

Relays amid electronic warfare

Using aircraft to relay communications is not new: militaries have used crewed planes and helicopters to connect forces separated by terrain. Olenchyn said large crewed aircraft cannot necessarily survive in Ukraine’s heavily saturated battlefield airspace, where drones and air defenses pose threats. He called a small, versatile platform a solution.

An analysis published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies described relay systems as a response to growing electronic warfare. It also noted that both sides can trace drone control signals to their source and strike operators.