A new drone interceptor featuring thin metal chains designed to disable unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) midair by tangling their spinning rotors was developed by a team of scientists at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Taking inspiration from the traditional South American bola weapon and applying it into modern drone defense technology designed for short-range interception, the interceptor fires lightweight, thin metal chains in the direction of incoming UAVs. Once these chains reach the incoming drone, it coils around the UAV's body and rotors, thus preventing the propellers from spinning and forcing the aircraft into a controlled crash.
Source: Markus Breig, KIT
“We use a well-known physical principle similar to the bola used by shepherds in South America and adapt it specifically for drone defense,” the team noted
According to its developers, the low-cost interception system can be deployed without sophisticated electronics or explosive projectiles.
Further, the team of scientists suggests that this design offers a safer alternative to conventional anti-drone systems that tend to be expensive and that face deployment limitations.
During computer simulations, the team assessed how metal chains, which measured between 3 mm and 4 mm thick, performed when colliding with model drones.
When factoring geometry, friction and motion dynamics, the team confirmed that chains could effectively wrap around drone rotors during flight to find out how effectively the chains could wrap around drone rotors during flight.
“One particular advantage of chains as projectiles is that, when falling, they pose less risk of collateral damage than a compact projectile of the same mass,” the team noted in a press release. “Further verification was carried out experimentally through firing tests at the Ballistics Center in Sternenfels."
