The space shuttle launch fuel tank was only painted for the first two launches. They stopped because the paint weighed 600 pounds and didnt offer any real benefit. So yeah, a little bit of paint does add up.
Im no expert here, but these drones have to fly many kilometers and they carry the spool on board, so the added weight is probably an issue. I assume the production would be much more complicated too. For normal industrial underground fibers the shielding can be quite thick and stiff, but for this you would need some kinda coating that can be incredibly thin while also somehow blocking all light.
Vapor deposited metal film. Expensive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they already use exactly that to handle interference from the sun. Even non-coherent light can wash the sensors out if you have enough of it.
Hmm. I’d guess that filtering all frequencies outside the data transmission window could help there, but I don’t really know.
These are supposed to be disposable, and are hastily being put together in wartime conditions by largely non-Western countries. Exotic solutions are highly disfavored.
why tho? a little bit of paint won’t be too much weight, right?
The space shuttle launch fuel tank was only painted for the first two launches. They stopped because the paint weighed 600 pounds and didnt offer any real benefit. So yeah, a little bit of paint does add up.
Im no expert here, but these drones have to fly many kilometers and they carry the spool on board, so the added weight is probably an issue. I assume the production would be much more complicated too. For normal industrial underground fibers the shielding can be quite thick and stiff, but for this you would need some kinda coating that can be incredibly thin while also somehow blocking all light.
Vapor deposited metal film. Expensive, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they already use exactly that to handle interference from the sun. Even non-coherent light can wash the sensors out if you have enough of it.
Hmm. I’d guess that filtering all frequencies outside the data transmission window could help there, but I don’t really know.
These are supposed to be disposable, and are hastily being put together in wartime conditions by largely non-Western countries. Exotic solutions are highly disfavored.
Also, you have to consider that a single fiber has pretty high surface-volume ratio.