On the first episode of a gripping two-part series documenting Ukraine's new fibre optic drones, award-winning foreign correspondent Richard Pendlebury joins the elite Charter Brigade to become the first reporter to witness the 'wonder weapons' in combat.

Fibre optic kamikaze drones are inflicting heavy casualties on Russian forces along the Kharkiv frontline. What sets them apart from conventional attack drones is devastatingly simple, they cannot be jammed.

With the addition of a gossamer thin fibre optic cable running from the drone to its operator, the devices are completely unaffected by enemy electronic warfare systems.

While the cabling limits their range, the drones are piloted by specialist soldiers who live and operate from dugouts deep underground, launching deadly strikes before vanishing back beneath the earth.

Before meeting these pilots in their underground bunkers, Pendlebury explained what makes the drones so innovative.

He said: 'The Charter Brigade are at the forefront of the use of a so-called wonder weapon, the fibre optic kamikaze drone, which first appeared on the battlefield in the autumn of 2024.

'Ordinary first person kamikaze drones have dominated the Ukrainian battlefield for at least two years. They are controlled by radio signals, which can be jammed by an enemy's electronic warfare equipment.

'Fibre optic kamikaze drones are instead controlled by a thin cable attached to a pilot's handset up to 40 kilometres away. The signals which pass through it are immune to electronic jamming.

'They are like deadly kites, ones which, unlike ordinary drones, can lie on the ground and wait for a passing victim.'

Pendlebury spent days underground with three drone pilots, known only by their military call signs, Puma, the team leader, Kush and Umbrella.

Their commanding officer told the reporter of a recent Russian push into Ukrainian territory to illustrate the lethal effectiveness of the new weapons.

He said: 'The last time we had Russian tanks here, it was on the 15th of May last year.

'Our side and their side were supposed to be negotiating. The next morning, the Russians launched a big assault in our direction. Six armoured vehicles, two cars and one cannon. All of it was destroyed by our drone units.'

One of the drone pilots, Puma, shows Pendlebury how to construct a fibre optic drone, revealing another of the weapon's key strengths.

It can be assembled in as little as 30 minutes, with the fibre optic cabling adding only 10 minutes to the normal build time.

This allows the unit to keep multiple drones on standby, ready to replace any that are lost or destroyed in combat.

'We keep a stockpile,' Puma said via a translator. 'We just need to attach a shell, then it's ready for a mission.'

Watch Pendlebury's full report from deep underground on the Kharkiv frontline by subscribing to the Daily Mail World YouTube channel.