DARPA drone interceptor looks to be armed with a blueprint of Silly String

By David Hambling

The US has developed a drone interceptor that fires what looks to be a blueprint of Silly String into their rotors, bringing them down with minimal risk of unintended distress.

The interceptor used to be created by the US Defense Evolved Learn Projects Company (DARPA). It’s launched from a vehicle and guided by radar that would possibly perhaps well robotically name and track microscopic drones.

As soon as the interceptor has a target drone in peek, it releases string-cherish streamers – their real composition is unknown – to disable it. The system would possibly perhaps well even also open multiple interceptors to take care of plenty of incoming drones simultaneously, and the interceptors are reusable.

DARPA says it wishes to construct drone defences for convoys and other mobile devices in heavily populated areas, where well-liked defense force weapons would blueprint too grand risk of civilian casualties. Existing interceptor drones, cherish the Coyote already outdated by the US defense force, carry an explosive warhead, while other projects rely on nets or ramming, which require extra real aiming.

The company has also developed other, unspecified, non-explosive anti-drone weapons and one more interceptor which resembles a microscopic aircraft, however hasn’t launched a video demonstrating them. They ought to even be safer than explosive countermeasures.

“The misfortune of a adverse drone – doubtlessly with explosives hooked up to it – falling to the ground and perhaps injuring civilians exists,” says Robert Bunker, security analyst with C/O Futures. “On the opposite hand it’s a far greater option than targeting this sort of drone with indiscriminate machine gun fireplace.”

Since it doesn’t require explosives, this contrivance of interceptor would possibly perhaps well well even be appropriate for civilian employ, equivalent to defending airports, sports actions stadiums and other susceptible sites. Nonetheless Bunker notes that, if interceptors turn into well-liked, counter-countermeasures will evolve.

“Shall we behold a form of escalation where adverse fighter drones defend the bomber ones from the counter-drones, as we behold with manned-aircraft,“ he says.

Jack Watling of UK defence boom tank RUSI says that the streamer-firing interceptor looks conceptually sound, however the reliability and fee of the system ought to be concerns. From a defense force perspective it has most attention-grabbing one characteristic; unlike most weapons it cannot be outdated in opposition to other targets, that would possibly perhaps well even fair create it unpopular, he says. “I could perhaps well well be taken aback if this particular theory becomes broadly fielded contained in the defense force.”