Published: 2026-08-24
Tethered drones (tethered UAVs) are being used more and more: emergency lighting, communication relay, high-altitude monitoring, and fire reconnaissance. The tether cable not only powers the drone and transmits signals but also serves as the physical tether for the whole aircraft, making it one of the most critical components.
The three major challenges of tethered cables are: first, **weight**, as drones have limited carrying capacity, the cable should be as light as possible; second, **tensile strength**, as the cable must withstand its own weight plus wind load during drone flight; third, **electromagnetic interference**, since power supply and signals share the same cable, poor shielding will cause the image to be blurry.
Aerospace fiber weaving addresses the contradiction between 'light' and 'strong.' High-strength fibers such as Kevlar (aramid) have a strength-to-weight ratio several times that of steel wire, significantly reducing weight for the same tensile strength, allowing drones to fly higher and longer. At the same time, the fiber woven layers also serve as protective reinforcement, preventing the cable from wear and core breakage.
Structurally, mooring cables are usually composite structures of 'power lines, signal lines, and optical fibers,' with an outer layer of aramid braiding, followed by extrusion of the sheath. The cross-section of the power line must be calculated for voltage drop based on the drone's power and cable length, the signal line must be fully shielded, and the optical fiber must be bend-resistant. The outer diameter and weight of this composite directly affect the drone's hovering altitude.
Selection Recommendation: Tethered drone cables are customized based on three factors: flight altitude (determines cable length), drone power (determines cross-section), and signal type (determines number of cores). Shanghai Suoqi tethered drone cables use aramid braided reinforcement, support power, signal, and fiber optic integration, and calculate cable diameter and voltage drop according to hovering altitude.
About Shanghai Suoqi
Shanghai Suoqi Electric Wire & Cable Co., Ltd. is a specialized cable enterprise focusing on the research and development, design, production, and sales of special flexible cables. The company's products cover a series including reel cables, flat cables, drag chain cables, encoder cables, polyurethane cables, seawater-resistant cables, seawater-resistant network cables, and high-altitude vehicle cables, which are widely used in ports machinery, mining, industrial automation, marine engineering, and other fields. For more product information or inquiries, please call 13311756197 (same number on WeChat).