How do you kill a drone?

Yesterday we talked about how drones are become so effective they are forcing some armor, like tanks, back into a fire support role. So given that the now-ubiquitous drone is so effective – how do you fight them? We’re gonna look at that.

Basically, as with any flying electronic device, if you can disrupt the flight part of the drone it becomes ineffective. The oldest way to do that is by transferring kinetic energy…hitting it with a rock probably how Ug the caveman wanted to deal with pterodactyls, right? Or using his club when something flying came in high and inside Ted Williams-style. Nowadays we use bullets.

China’s version is a 16-barrelled weapon which fires a wall of lead at the target

Yu added that while the primary targets for this system are aerial threats like drone swarms, fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and cruise missiles, it can also target ground or water surface targets when needed.

The chief designer mentioned that the system is modular and can be installed on trucks, armored vehicles, or warships.

Global Times reported that the system has a fast reload speed, high fire density, controllable barrage size, outstanding destructive power, and capability to accompany troops in maneuvers. Interesting Engineering

Any of you old guys remember how the Brits used volley fire from their Self-Loading Rifles (7.62 L1A1)? Some Ulster baddy ducked behind a wall, all the squad fired at where he was behind the wall, and the wall went away. As did he. Not sophisticated, but effective. Think a 16 barrel version of that. From the description, sounds a bit like our Phalanx CWIS  but with fixed barrels.

Now the Russians have an interesting short-range solution – a 24 barrel shotgun to shoot buckshot at incoming, accompanied by a six-barrel AK-based system for slightly longer ranges. Knowing the Russians, one suspects six AKs bracketed onto a common mount with a round rod joining their triggers. You laugh…but look at the picture.

Ballistically, buckshot is “halitosis-range”* only but the AKs ought to give them at least a couple of hundred yards effective range.  Interesting Engineering II

*Remember when you landed in Ohio – Dayton? Columbus? – and there was a skeet/trap shooting line facing the runway? Maybe 300 yards away, so birdshot never even got close to the runway, but when you are landing and see all those shotguns pointed in your direction…

Meanwhile we are working on various systems allowing our guys to tag drones. Several companies like Aim-Lock and ZeroMark are working on weapons mounted sighting systems – the theory is that you shouldn’t need a dedicated system on the battlefield if you have a bunch of Joes who can shoot like Alvin York and lay a round or two into the drone.  Interesting if workable, but at this stage it seems they are still in development.

One system, however, from DZYNE, stands out – the average rifle bullet is at its most effective within about 1000 yards, right? Their Dronebuster DTIM (Detect, Track, Identify, Mitigate (DTIM) Kit) is claimed to have a seven kilometer (call it over 4 miles for you challenged folks) range, is worn like a backpack, and weighs less than 9 pounds.

Designed for tactical flexibility, the DTIM Kit weighs less than 8.8 pounds (4 kgs) and allows service members to move swiftly in the field while effectively addressing drone threats.

It comprises two main components: a Dronebuster mitigation system and a Dronebuster DTI system, providing an integrated drone detection and neutralization approach.

The mitigation system comes in two versions: the Dronebuster 4 and the Dronebuster 4-EU, the latter tailored to meet the specific needs of the European short-range device band.

Cutting past the buzzwords – it detects and identifies drones a long ways off and then jams them with a handheld emitter (above.)

More to come.

Category: Science and Technology