• UK-made, invisible radio wave weapon knocks out drone swarms for the first time.
  • Weapon has potential to help protect against drone threats as nature of warfare changes.
  • DrunkenPirate@feddit.org
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    29
    ·
    2 days ago

    It uses high frequency radio waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside drones, causing them to crash or malfunction.

    At a range of 1km…

    That‘s useful not just for drones. I wonder if this works against helicopters, too.

    • YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      24 hours ago

      Seriously this! People don’t understand that even hobby drones at a certain price point have robust rf shielding.

    • Arcka@midwest.social
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      4
      ·
      1 day ago

      More like: That could be useful, just not for (perhaps many) drones.

      1km isn’t that far - the drones that were used for surveillance of Minneapolis protests in 2020 were around 6km up.

      If they needed to get close for some reason, would a 1km deterrent be countered enough by approaching from directly above and using gravity for the last km?

      • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        4
        ·
        23 hours ago

        The drones used in Ukraine are basically just commercial drones with grenades strapped to them. And a 1 km distance they’re unlikely to be able to damage a target even if they detonated.

    • skulblaka@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      14
      arrow-down
      3
      ·
      edit-2
      2 days ago

      It sounds like it’s a directed microwave cooker. Works on people too, just not ones behind good cover.

      Edit: ah, high frequency, my bad, it’s a gamma gun. Same principles apply I think, give or take the cover.

      • void_turtle@lemmy.blahaj.zone
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        17
        ·
        edit-2
        1 day ago

        They are definitely not blasting gamma rays to bring down drones lol. “radio” is a specific range of frequencies so “high frequency radio” is just frequencies at the higher end of that specific range.

        Gamma rays are insanely dangerous. I’m too lazy to do calculations/research to back this up but I suspect that gamma rays intense enough to reliably drop a drone would also give cancer/radiation poisoning to anyone remotely downrange (and also the operators). Furthermore, I don’t think we have a way to produce gamma rays in any high intensity in the lab. matter-antimatter annihilation and fusion bombs are the only way I know of for humans to produce gamma rays. The former can only be done at atomic scale in the lab and the latter is, well, I guess that also destroys drones (and everything else within 100km)

      • Fluke@lemm.ee
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        6
        ·
        1 day ago

        High frequency radio is still below the visible part of the spectrum, gamma is waaay above it.

      • Arcka@midwest.social
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        2
        ·
        1 day ago

        Tech Ingredients YT channel made a diy microwave directed energy device to disrupt consumer drones.