KIT researchers bring down drones with chains
KIT researchers have developed and tested a method for defending against drones. The inspiration was an old weapon from South America.
(Image: Markus Breig, KIT)
Anyone traveling on water knows: If something gets tangled in the propeller, the boat trip ends abruptly. Why shouldn't what works on water also be used in aviation? Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) want to make drones harmless by blocking their rotors.
The concept is relatively simple: a launch device throws thin chains in the direction of the drone. “Upon contact, the chains wrap around the drone's body and rotors. This causes the rotors to lose their mobility and the drone crashes,” describes Claus Mattheck, who developed the method together with external partners.
An engineering firm investigated the behavior of chains with diameters of three to four millimeters upon impact with drones. According to Mattheck, friction, geometry, and movement sequences were included in the simulations.
Simulations and Field Tests
In the simulations, the team demonstrated “the fundamental suitability of the method,” says Mattheck. “Further verifications were carried out experimentally through firing tests at the Sternenfels ballistics center.” The results of the simulations and field tests are described by the team in the trade journals Aerospace & Defence and Konstruktionspraxis.
The team sought “an approach to drone defense that is as simple, robust, and deployable in the short term as possible.” The inspiration was the bolas, a throwing weapon used in South America. These consist of several cords with weights at the end. They are used to catch animals by entangling their legs. “Instead of balls on ropes, we use thin chains, which have proven superior in simulation calculations,” says Mattheck.
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Undesired Drones
Undesired drones are increasingly being sighted near airports, military facilities, or critical infrastructures. Experts are looking for ways to render the unmanned aerial vehicles harmless, for example, with lasers or microwaves.
The DLR wants to have drones caught with nets or rammed by interceptor drones. Finally, there is the direct option of simply shooting down a drone – but this is not without risk to bystanders: “A particular advantage of chains as projectiles is that, when falling, they have less potential for collateral damage than a compact projectile of the same mass,” says Mattheck.
(wpl)
