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That promo video has "suck it Iran" written all over it. Right down to the truck launches and drone shapes. I do admit I wonder about single point of failure w

That promo video has "suck it Iran" written all over it. Right down to the truck launches and drone shapes. I do admit I wonder about single point of failure with this, so hopefully it's part of some layered strategy. Maybe with some flingy nets, those matrix-barrel guns with like 100 barrels in a grid, eagles trained to swoop down and pick apart the props, etc. etc.

uhtred 3y ago
> eagles trained to swoop down and pick apart the props I assume the eagle dies or gets a horrific injury in this scenario?
- zdw 3y ago
  Generally not: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/Newsroom/MI-Environment/2020/08/13/shoreline-mapping-egle-drone-sent-to-watery-lake-michigan-grave-by-u-p-bald-eagle https://www.michigan.gov/egle/Newsroom/MI-Environment/2020/0...
- ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
  They tried that, in The Netherlands, I think. They stopped the initiative. Not sure why, but they didn't think it was effective.
- SimonPStevens 3y ago
  Surprisingly they seem very capable of taking down drones uninjured. They have very strong legs, and with a flexible attack from below they can avoid the props. Here's a video of some french trained eagles showing how easy it is. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b8kZupqPbJs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b8kZupqPbJs
- prawn 3y ago
  I had a wedge tailed eagle take down one of my drones while filming. Drone ended up dropping to the ground damaged while the eagle wasn’t too bothered. It just perched nearby and watched me picking up pieces, not preening or appearing at all injured.
- mmcconnell1618 3y ago
  In Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, a character has trained raptors to take down drones and he crafted 3D printed sleeves to protect their claws from damage during attacks: https://www.nealstephenson.com/termination-shock.html https://www.nealstephenson.com/termination-shock.html
2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
> I wonder about single point of failure with this Myself as well although I think this is already one of the last lines of defense. These drone swarms don't have a great range so the launchers need to get lucky to get close enough in the first place (I'd hope).
- germinalphrase 3y ago
  The new, terrible ‘bat bomb’!
KineticLensman 3y ago
Training an eagle is expensive and time consuming compared with the swarm. A few explodey drones and an expensive eagle fleet is toast. We’re talking months to years to gain a single eagle’s trust [edit] Disclaimer: I volunteer at a raptor conservancy. Please don’t propagate the belief that eagles or other birds of prey are an effective counter-drone strategy at scale
- nozzlegear 3y ago
  I’ve always been curious about eagles as drone deterrents: wouldn’t the birds’ feet be potentially damaged by the propellers on the drone? Admittedly I don’t know what kind of propellers a fancy airport-menacing drone or shahed drone is using, maybe they’re just some kind of plastic.
  - KineticLensman 3y ago
    A shahed drone is, compared with an eagle, a small light aircraft with a piston-engine pusher prop and an 8 foot wingspan. An eagle couldn’t take one down any more than it could a Cessna, essentially
    - nozzlegear 3y ago
      Ah, I didn't know that. So the shaheds are the larger sort of military drones the US and other countries use, more along the lines of reapers and predators than something like a retail drone you or I could buy on Amazon for instance and control with our phones. I'd heard some of them were being used in Ukraine as kamikaze explosives and figured they must be cheap little things being sent into targets. Thanks for the info.
      - KineticLensman 3y ago
        Glad to be of help! >> kamikaze explosives (A couple of years ago these were called loitering munitions, with the meaning of a smallish UAV that could, well, loiter until a target presented itself. Personally I never liked the term 'kamikaze' because destroying yourself is true of shells, cruise missiles, etc etc.)

uhtred 3y ago

> eagles trained to swoop down and pick apart the props I assume the eagle dies or gets a horrific injury in this scenario?

zdw 3y ago
Generally not: https://www.michigan.gov/egle/Newsroom/MI-Environment/2020/08/13/shoreline-mapping-egle-drone-sent-to-watery-lake-michigan-grave-by-u-p-bald-eagle https://www.michigan.gov/egle/Newsroom/MI-Environment/2020/0...
ChrisMarshallNY 3y ago
They tried that, in The Netherlands, I think. They stopped the initiative. Not sure why, but they didn't think it was effective.
SimonPStevens 3y ago
Surprisingly they seem very capable of taking down drones uninjured. They have very strong legs, and with a flexible attack from below they can avoid the props. Here's a video of some french trained eagles showing how easy it is. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b8kZupqPbJs https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=b8kZupqPbJs
prawn 3y ago
I had a wedge tailed eagle take down one of my drones while filming. Drone ended up dropping to the ground damaged while the eagle wasn’t too bothered. It just perched nearby and watched me picking up pieces, not preening or appearing at all injured.
mmcconnell1618 3y ago
In Neal Stephenson's Termination Shock, a character has trained raptors to take down drones and he crafted 3D printed sleeves to protect their claws from damage during attacks: https://www.nealstephenson.com/termination-shock.html https://www.nealstephenson.com/termination-shock.html

2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago

> I wonder about single point of failure with this Myself as well although I think this is already one of the last lines of defense. These drone swarms don't have a great range so the launchers need to get lucky to get close enough in the first place (I'd hope).

germinalphrase 3y ago
The new, terrible ‘bat bomb’!

KineticLensman 3y ago

Training an eagle is expensive and time consuming compared with the swarm. A few explodey drones and an expensive eagle fleet is toast. We’re talking months to years to gain a single eagle’s trust [edit] Disclaimer: I volunteer at a raptor conservancy. Please don’t propagate the belief that eagles or other birds of prey are an effective counter-drone strategy at scale

nozzlegear 3y ago
I’ve always been curious about eagles as drone deterrents: wouldn’t the birds’ feet be potentially damaged by the propellers on the drone? Admittedly I don’t know what kind of propellers a fancy airport-menacing drone or shahed drone is using, maybe they’re just some kind of plastic.
- KineticLensman 3y ago
  A shahed drone is, compared with an eagle, a small light aircraft with a piston-engine pusher prop and an 8 foot wingspan. An eagle couldn’t take one down any more than it could a Cessna, essentially
  - nozzlegear 3y ago
    Ah, I didn't know that. So the shaheds are the larger sort of military drones the US and other countries use, more along the lines of reapers and predators than something like a retail drone you or I could buy on Amazon for instance and control with our phones. I'd heard some of them were being used in Ukraine as kamikaze explosives and figured they must be cheap little things being sent into targets. Thanks for the info.
    - KineticLensman 3y ago
      Glad to be of help! >> kamikaze explosives (A couple of years ago these were called loitering munitions, with the meaning of a smallish UAV that could, well, loiter until a target presented itself. Personally I never liked the term 'kamikaze' because destroying yourself is true of shells, cruise missiles, etc etc.)