Taking a drone down with a spear is as impressive as it sounds

16 May 2016

Anti-drone technology is on the up and up – to pardon the pun – but sometimes there’s a simpler way to take down a drone, such as hitting it with a spear.

If you’ve been following any drone news lately, it seems the high-pitched buzzing and incursions onto private property by the aerial vehicles is becoming less of a nuisance and more of a genuine concern.

After all, we’ve had incidents reported in the last month that have seen claims by some pilots that these drones are coming dangerously close to their aircraft upon landing, or even colliding with them, in some cases.

For these reasons, we now have companies and organisations scrambling to find ways of taking down drones when necessary, whether it be a rifle that shoots disabling radio waves, or an eagle trained to fly and catch the drone in midair.

But, what if you’re performing a medieval show out in a rural area and all you have to hand is ancient weaponry?

Spear me your drone, future man

Well, then you use whatever is to hand, like a spear.

Last week, a clip emerged from Russia shot by a drone pilot called Gennady Tolcheyev, who was flying his own drone above a historical reenactment in the country’s central Lipetsk region.

From the clip, hundreds of people had turned up in full regalia to fight it out with swords and shields to their (pretend) deaths but one, in particular, was not a fan of the realism being spoiled.

While filming one particular clash, one man is spotted distancing himself from the crowd and, gearing himself up, manages to pull off a great throw that hits the drone square-on.

Whether spears will be the weapon of choice for drone destroyers in the future remains to be seen.

Knight with drone image via Shutterstock

Gigglebit is Siliconrepublic.com’s daily dose of the funny and fantastic in science and tech, to help start your day on a lighter note.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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