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A Ukrainian brigade has been testing a fishing rod-like device on one of its drones.
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The rope attached to the device appears to be designed to wrap around the propeller of an enemy drone.
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The brigade released two videos of quadcopter interceptions on Monday.
The Ukrainian military appears to be testing a new drone attachment that uses ropes or wires to disable enemy propeller-driven drones in the air.
The tactic can be seen in a video released Monday by the 46th Independent Air Mobility Brigade, which released video clips of recent attacks against Russian infantry, vehicles and drones.
In its title, the brigade highlighted a “new method of capturing enemy drones from the air.”
The new device features a pole extending from the interceptor’s chassis, as seen in a first-person view camera from a Ukrainian drone.
A string or rope hangs from the pole, pulled taut by a small weight, and dangles into view as the Ukrainian drone flies high above the battlefield.
The brigade’s drone then appeared to fly over its target, a small quadcopter, tangling the device’s propeller in the tether it was attached to.
The brigade released footage of two such interceptions, as well as a third clip showing a drone with a pole attachment trying to ram a fixed-wing drone.
The third target may be the Russian Monia unidirectional attack loitering munition. It’s unclear whether the interception in the third video was successful.
The novel fishing rod-like device is another example of how warfare is pushing militaries to develop new ways to physically disrupt drones as electronic warfare technology adapts.
Ukraine and Russia have been experimenting with similar counter-drone tactics to counter jamming capabilities of small attack drones, deploying fishing nets on the ground and testing them on interceptors.
Some Western companies have also begun experimenting with drones and handheld network launchers to defend against small quadcopters.
The war has led to the growing popularity of small, fast and cheap drones as interceptors as Russia increasingly relies on fixed-wing Jelan drones, which often fly at speeds of up to 115 mph and sometimes even 230 mph, for large-scale attacks.
However, the 46th Independent Air Mobility Brigade’s fishing line device appears to be more suitable for disabling quadcopters.
Read the original article on Business Insider