Overview

Don't Let Your Tether Hold You Down!

Cables attached to commercial and defense tethered drones use traditional durable materials that are bulky and heavy, often weighing drones down. On the flip side, lighter-weight cable materials absorb moisture and lack enough protection to resist harsh environments like high temperatures. Both cable materials create issues during operation that can limit your payload options and reduce your drone’s capabilities.

GORE Tethered Drone Cables are a game-changer for the commercial and defense industries. We strike a balance by blending reliable high-power and fiber optic cables with rugged materials in a small-scale hybrid design.

Smaller Design With Better Protection

Our tethered drone cables are 20% smaller in size than standard nylon-built cables, which means they’re naturally lighter weight. So they take up less space inside the tether management system (TMS), giving you more design options and allowing for extra payload during operation.

We also build our cables with high-strength, weather-proof materials proven to survive damage from abrasion, wide temperatures, humidity and repeated reeling, to name a few. In fact, our single-mode fiber optic cable offers a high level of crush resistance and meets ARINC 802-3 requirements for a secure data link from the drone to ground support equipment (GSE). 

The fiber can also function as a low-loss coaxial cable for applications transmitting and receiving data. Examples are temporary cell towers, rural network connectivity, mesh drone networks and line-of-sight communication. You can even use the fiber as a downlink for uninterrupted video streaming to provide situational awareness and coverage for emergency response, border patrol, aerial photography and more.
 

More Weight Stability In Harsh Fluids

Because every gram of weight saved on a drone matters, we tested our unique fiber braid cable against a standard nylon cable to see how both performed when immersed in harsh fluids. Results showed that the initial weight of the nylon cable increased significantly by 13% in hydraulic fluid and more than 7.5% in salt water. But, our cable offers 90% less weight pickup, particularly holding less than 1% in saltwater for even more design/payload options and height above ground level (AGL).

Don’t waste time with standard cables tethering you down and wearing out long before the drone. Fly higher, see farther and do more with durable, low-weight GORE Tethered Drone Cables proven to outperform standard cables over the drone’s lifecycle.
 

High-strength, lightweight construction of Gore’s tethered drone cables.
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Braided fiber jacket

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Weather-proof barrier

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Engineered fluoropolymer insulation

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Silver-plated copper conductor

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Optical fiber

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ePTFE buffer

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PEEK jacket

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High-Strength, Lightweight Construction of GORE Tethered Drone Cables.

Applications

PROVEN PERFORMANCE ACROSS COMMERCIAL & DEFENSE APPLICATIONS

With proven unrivaled durable performance, GORE Tethered Drone Cables deliver unfailing data transmission, secure signals and high-voltage power in applications like:

  • commercial photography
  • electro-optical infrared (EO/IR) sensors
  • search/rescue
  • industrial/land inspections
  • intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR)
  • news/events
  • signals intelligence
  • telecommunications
  • video streaming
Gore’s tethered drone cable attached to a DJI Phantom 4 drone at construction site.

The fiber can also function as a reliable low-loss coaxial cable for applications that transmit and receive data like:

  • line-of-sight communication
  • mesh drone networks
  • rural network connectivity
  • temporary cell towers
  • video streaming

If you have any questions or to discuss your specific application needs, contact a Gore representative today.

Features & Benefits

GORE Tethered Drone Cables are engineered with unique features that make them more durable against challenging environmental factors and operating conditions, including:

  • crush- and abrasion-resistant materials
  • chemically inert, weather-proof materials
  • low-friction fiber braid cable jacket
  • smaller, lighter weight cable diameters

Our cables provide system architects and engineers with many benefits that improve electrical, mechanical and environmental performance such as:

  • more design options and extra payload with reduced size/weight
  • less weight pickup for more stability in harsh fluids than nylon cables
  • withstand abrasion, weather, terrain, extreme temperatures, repeated reeling, more
  • proven crush-resistant fiber optic cable meets ARINC 802-3 requirements
  • deliver continuous high-voltage power, secure signals, high-bandwidth data transfer
  • easier handling, less maintenance, extended product life, fewer cable replacements
  • selected samples with short lead times for prototyping and evaluation
  • low risk based on validated product performance in real-world conditions

For more information about the features and benefits of our cables or to discuss your specific application needs, contact a Gore representative today.
 

Properties

These values demonstrate the electrical, mechanical and environmental performance of GORE Tethered Drone Cables for commercial and defense.

Electrical Property Power Pair Data Pair Fiber Optic
Operating Voltage (Vrms)a 600 250
Testing Voltage (Vrms) 1500 1500
Maximum Optical Loss at 1310 nm (dB/km) 0.35
Maximum Optical Loss at 1550 nm (dB/km) 0.20

a Based on a NEMA HP3 wire.
 

Mechanical / Environmental Property Power Pair Data Pair Fiber Optic
Jacket Material Engineered Fluoropolymer Fiber Braid
Jacket Color Black
Insulation Color Gray / White Blue / White Brown
Insulation Wall Thickness mm (in) 0.14 (0.006) 0.14 (0.006)
Conductor Silver-Plated Copper Silver-Plated Copper
Mode Type (µm) Single (900)
Core / Cladding / Coating 8 / 125 / 245
Coating Type High Temperature Acrylate
Buffer ePTFE
Dielectric Material ePTFE / PTFE
Crush / Impact Resistanceb
  (ARINC 802-3) / kgf/cm (lb/in)
Pass
Tensile Strengthb N (lb)
  16 AWG
  20 AWG
  24 AWG
 
1538 (345)
1092 (245)
910 (204)
Scrape Abrasion Resistance (Cycles)
(SAE AS4373™) / 500 g (1.1 lb)
> 36,000
Fluid Immersion / Weight Stabilityb
  (AS4373 / % Absorption)
Pass
< 1 (Salt Water, Diesel) / < 2.5 (Hydraulic)
Cold Bend Resistanceb (SAE AS4373™) Pass
Temperature Range (°C) -60 to +200 -60 to +200 -60 to +85c

b Testing based on size 22 AWG.
c Attenuation may increase above 85°C.

Qualifications

GORE Tethered Drone Cables for commercial and defense have undergone substantial qualification testing to ensure they meet the most current industry standards and our customers’ requirements.

  • ARINC 802-3; Performance Requirements
  • SAE AS4373™: Test Methods for Insulated Electric Wire

For more information about the qualifications of our cables, contact a Gore representative today.
 

Videos

Watch Gore engineers in these videos and more on YouTube demonstrating the benefits of GORE Tethered Drone Cables.

More Information

Learn More About Gore Tethered Drone Cables Or Order Now

Fly higher, see farther and do more with smaller, lighter GORE Tethered Drone Cables proven to last for as long as the drone remains in operation. Confirm the quality of our cables and their compatibility in your commercial or defense application by requesting complimentary samples, which are shipped within 48 hours. 

For more information and to discuss your specific application needs, contact a Gore representative today. If you’re ready to order, contact one of our wire and cable distributors for in-stock availability.
 

Resources

Recent News

Press Release

W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES TO PRESENT NEW MOSA PAPER AT GVSETS CONFERENCE

Posted August 11, 2023

W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) will present a new Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) technical paper at the Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering & Technology Symposium & Modernization Update (GVSETS) on Tuesday, August 15, in Novi, Mich.

Event

Visit Gore at the Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit (AAAA)

April 26, 2023 - April 29, 2023

Stop by Booth 1023 and ask to see our demonstrations to watch how GORE® Cables and Materials perform reliably before and after installation and over time. We’re also eager to hear about your latest airframe and aviation system developments and talk with you about our solutions to ensure mission performance and aircrew protection for FARA, FLRAA and enduring fleet.

Press Release

W. L. Gore & Associates Expands High-Speed Data Transmission Capabilities

Posted April 18, 2023

W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) announced today its new Cat8 ethernet cable for use in aerospace and defense platforms. The new Cat8 ethernet cable allows for four times the high-speed data transmission previously possible.

Press Release

W. L. GORE & ASSOCIATES WINS SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR AWARD FROM BAE SYSTEMS

Posted April 11, 2023

W. L. Gore & Associates (Gore) announced that last week it was one of 13 companies to win a “Partner 2 Win” Supplier of the Year award from BAE Systems for Gore’s high-performance cabling supporting countermeasure and electromagnetic defense solutions. In addition, Gore also received a Silver Supplier Award for best-in-class performance and contributions to supply chain success.

View all News & Events

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Not for use in food, drug, cosmetic or medical device manufacturing, processing, or packaging operations.