>>64270488
>100km range fiberoptic
100 km is often cited as the distance limit for a single-mode fiber without regen (the absolute limit is more like 160 km), so that's pretty damn impressive given the conditions it has to survive.
Anyways, aren't drones supposed to be piss cheap?
Cheap 4xSM fiber optic cables can cost around 0.5 €/m when ordered in bulk by the kilometer.
That's in the ballpark of 500 €/km. Or 50 000 € per 100 km.
One single-mode fiber would be slightly less than 1/4 of that. Let's be optimistic and say 10 000 € for the 100 km spool. In reality it's probably more.
At that point the fiber costs 2x more than the drone.
>>64270979
>It's maybe $2k or in that ballpark.
No, you're off by an order of magnitude.
And given the operating conditions of this fiber (freely spun out of a tight spool and freefalling into unknown terrain), the fiber might need expensive reinforcing characteristics that you don't get normal fibers that are safely contained in heavy cables and carefully installed. Nevermind the fact that normal fiber optic cables cannot even be bent much without damaging the fibers.