Mobile-Menu

Drone defence With the bola against troublemakers

A guest article by C. Mattheck, K. Bethge | Translated by AI 1 min Reading Time

There have been an increasing number of reports recently: Drones are disrupting operations at numerous airports. Here, experts from KIT present their thoughts on a purely mechanical option for drone defense.

The article is intended as an impulse to test the suitability of the Bola throwing weapon - verified in historical practice - for drone defense as well.(Image: Mattheck)
The article is intended as an impulse to test the suitability of the Bola throwing weapon - verified in historical practice - for drone defense as well.
(Image: Mattheck)

C. Mattheck, KIT Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Applied Materials, 76021 Karlsruhe; K. Bethge, expert

Interconnected weights develop a life of their own, consisting of a mixture of rotation and translation, and their very own target ballistics.

This work does not present any new findings from years of research, but rather fragments of thought from history and experience of existence put together to form a purely mechanical option for drone defence: "The method of wrapping!"

All this is presented in self-explanatory illustrations:

Gallery
Gallery with 5 images

Optimization aspects

Throwing device:

The number and mass of the weights up to the continuous mass assignment as with a chain, whereby the effective range can also be controlled in comparison with flying nets.

Type of connection between the weights:

  • Long ropes between light weights increase air resistance and limit the range, which is an external ballistic disadvantage.
  • Long ropes lead to more wrapping effects when hit, which is a ballistic advantage.
  • Short connecting ropes with rather heavy weights reduce the hit rate and the number of wraps, but increase the chance of the target being capped when hit.
  • If a weight is heavier than those connected to it, it can bundle and lead the swarm against the air resistance, but reduces the size of the impact area and thus the chance of wrapping.
  • These and also internal ballistic aspects of the optimization not mentioned here partly work against each other, so that a compromise should be found experimentally.

Conclusion

The use of mechanically linked weights has a long history from ancient naval battles to the hunters and cattle herders of South America.

The article is intended as an impulse to test the suitability of this knowledge, which has been verified in historical practice, for drone defense, because some hard-working compatriots also miss their hard-earned vacation due to a drone launched carelessly in the airport area...

If you would like to learn more about our people mechanics, please visit our seminar Why everything breaks or read the book Die Körpersprache der Bauteile [1] and, in relation to this topic, our Schleuderbuch [2].

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Volker Hack, Ballistikzentrum Sternenfels, for stimulating discussions.

Literature

[1] Mattheck C, (2017), Die Körpersprache der Bauteile – Enzyklopädie der Formfindung nach der Natur, Karlsruher Institut für Technologie

[2] Mattheck C. (2013), Die Mechanik der Schleuder: Erläutert mit einfühlsamen Worten von Pauli, dem Bär

Subscribe to the newsletter now

Don't Miss out on Our Best Content

By clicking on „Subscribe to Newsletter“ I agree to the processing and use of my data according to the consent form (please expand for details) and accept the Terms of Use. For more information, please see our Privacy Policy. The consent declaration relates, among other things, to the sending of editorial newsletters by email and to data matching for marketing purposes with selected advertising partners (e.g., LinkedIn, Google, Meta)

Unfold for details of your consent

Related content