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How To Shoot Down a Drone 176

Posted by Soulskill from the aim-at-drone,-pull-trigger dept.
gurps_npc writes: Popular Mechanics has a nice article about how to shoot down a non-military drone. Interestingly enough, a Super Soaker will do the job while a standard paint gun does nothing. It doesn't take much energy as long as it is concentrated. A BB gun can do it as well — if you can hit the the target. "Other good non-gun options include pretty much any other solid-projectile slinger. Slingshots will likely work—again, assuming you can hit." They add, "Last but not least, you never want to underestimate the power of just throwing crap. A rock, a baseball, anything you can fling straight, accurate, and fast. All it takes to down a drone is a bent propeller or enough of a jolt to flip it."
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How To Shoot Down a Drone More

How To Shoot Down a Drone

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  • Japan does it right (Score:5, Interesting)

    by fustakrakich ( 1673220 ) on Saturday August 08, 2015 @11:21PM (#50277849) Journal

    You gotta put all the nasty bits in a roll cage [youtube.com], and only one motor to fail

    • You gotta put all the nasty bits in a roll cage [youtube.com], and only one motor to fail

      and how many control surfaces?

      • There were six or eight of them. It doesn't look like you need them all to maintain control, and they're also protected inside the cage. The ones around the prop tips and the base were free floating. The overall design just makes much more sense, being safer and far more robust. I am surprised it doesn't dominate the market. It did cost a lot of money to make the first time, but it's an old video, and being a military project, well, you know the routine there. Prices should be comparable now.

    • Dont' even need to do that now... manufacturers are making almost unbreakable props as seen in Youtube video [youtu.be]. Good luck shooting down a drone if you can't break the propellers!

  • A piece of wood or a rock, some string/rope tied to it, job done.
    Much easier to 'hit' it, and once the string is tangled, its not going anywhere.
    You can even pull it back for another 'shot' if long enough

    Of course if its further away, not so easy.. but then its also probably not yours to 'shoot down' to say the least.

    Leaving alone somewhat the question of if you SHOULD 'shoot down a drone'. I wonder how many people would walk
    up to a stranger, grab their camera and throw it hard to the pavement - its much th

    • >

      Leaving alone somewhat the question of if you SHOULD 'shoot down a drone'. I wonder how many people would walk up to a stranger, grab their camera and throw it hard to the pavement - its much the same thing really. They would have to be doing something pretty damn wrong...

      If the stranger is not violating the person's privacy, probably nothing will happen to the camera (or drone). If the camera is pointing in his little girls bedroom/pool/similar-type-situation, the camera (or drone) will likely need replacing---maybe along with stranger's teeth...

    • I wonder what a stream of Silly String would do - might be the best option of all, it probably wouldn't destroy or even crash it, but if it got into the propeller shaft area it'd gum things up enough to bring one down but the owner could still clean it out.

      I can see the court case now "Your honor, he sprayed my drone with silly string!"

      As for paintballs vs throwing things, paintballs don't actually mass that much, they're designed to splatter dispersing the impact, and they're not that dense. One of the ani

      • Airsoft guns would probably work well. A stream of bbs with enough accuracy and force to bring down most low flying (200ft or less) drones but which are more or less harmless to anything they land on otherwise.

      • My guess would be make a really big mess

      • That doesn't make sense. Paintballs have more stopping power than a super soaker.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Alioth ( 221270 )

          But a super soaker will likely cause one or more of the ESCs to fail - electronics generally stop working properly when wet (it can maintain a stream of water for some time). Add a little bit of salt to make the water more conductive just to be sure.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Vapula ( 14703 )

            What about some high pressure cleaner ? More pressure and can sustain water stream much longer...

        • You have to freeze half the paintballs. The frozen ones won't just splat, while the regular ones will blind the camera. When you get your hands on it, return it AFTER shorting out the battery. Light high energy batteries aren't that cheap.

          • Re: Silly string? (Score:4, Funny)

            by drinkypoo ( 153816 ) <drink@hyperlogos.org> on Sunday August 09, 2015 @01:57PM (#50280125) Homepage Journal

            When you get your hands on it, return it AFTER shorting out the battery. Light high energy batteries aren't that cheap.

            Do not short out high-energy battery with remaining hand

          • If you can return it, that means you've identified the pilot. In that case, deal with them face-to-face while the drone is still in flight. If they crash it, they can't claim you broke it, can they? In other words, no, don't return it; if the pilot comes to claim it, tell them you have no way of knowing it's actually theirs. True story, even, as anyone could have seen it flying overhead and be able to identify it visually and, well they can't prove the controller they're holding in their hand actually contr

          • Frozen paintballs shrivel a bit and cause you to sacrifice accuracy. They also don't hurt any worse than normal ones when shot with, and furthermore they still break apart (although they don't "splatter", they rarely stay in one piece after hitting a person, just like unfrozen balls.)

            The material in them doesn't get that hard when frozen using any conventional means of freezing them, and I suspect that if you froze them completely solid (e.g. with liquid nitrogen) they probably wouldn't fire at all (they'd

      • Re:Silly string? (Score:5, Interesting)

        by v1 ( 525388 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @05:09PM (#50281041) Homepage Journal

        Its a similar problem to using explosives to knock down a building. Paintballs have a large enough amount of energy to take down a drone, but it's not applied in the right way. During WW2 when nations were using bombs to knock down buildings, they discovered that, somewhat contrary to common sense, using an explosive with a very fast detonation speed to produce a very string but very brief blast tended to only so supericial damage to buildings. The problem was that the mass of the building had to be overcome before you started to knock it down.

        Explosives like ammonium nitrate on the other hand, have a very slow release of energy, while still containing a lot of total energy. So instead of trying to send the bricks flying airborne, which requires a lot of energy, they invest it slowly to PUSH the bricks sideways without lifting them, and shove the building over. "Work smarter, not harder".

        Paintballs I think have a simiar problem of incorrect energy delivery. They're delivering all of their energy in a very small package. But when the ball hits, it breaks, and sends essentailly all of the energy-containing mass plattering in all directions, instead of transferring it effciently to the target. Anyone that's played paintball knows, "the balls that break don't hurt that much - it's the balls that DON'T break that leave bruises". 20% energy transfer vs 100% energy transfer. Stopping paint absorbs much more energy than deflecting it. Look at how the paint just parts around the sides of the drone and continues on to create a spray downrange. All that energy wasted!

        If you want to use paintballs, the solution is easy. Freeze the paintballs. I absolutely guarantee frozen paintballs will be effective in bringing down a drone. Just keep a sandwich baggie of them in your freezer "in case of emergency". See a drone? Fill your hopper and encourage the drone to "chill out" and take a "break" on your lawn. Just make sure it lands ON your lawn, so it's clear to any authorities that it was in your airspace at the time. (and if it happens to land just outside... you might want to "covertly relocate" it slightly)

        If the owner comes traipsing over and insists on your handing it over, refuse admission to your property. Insist that they will be charged with criminal tresspass if they enter or will not leave your property. If the neighbor kids throw a baseball and it lands inside your fenced yard, just because it's their ball doesn't give them legal right to come onto your property to recover it. Tell them to send the cops, you will gladly turn over the drone to the cops, and they can turn it over to the pilot. If they persist, don't resist, just protest and document (picture/film) the tresspass. Then regardless of how the drone thing ends, they WILL be liable for tresspass.

        So leave it sitting on your lawn, guarded and covered. If they call the cops, take them to where it landed, point out the camera, turn it over, give your statement, and its all documented. The owner should get a nice dressing down from the cops before they give him back the drone.

        Depending on the local laws and the particular judge though, you may be found liable for damage to the drone. Be preapred for that if you go hunting. Even if it doesn't seem fair, the law may not be on your side. If it really worries you, contact your local authorities for their official position on the matter before it comes up.

        You might also go down the route "My daughter was upstairs in her bedroom changing to come outside when this drone flew by on our property at the same level, it could have been filming her through the second story window. She had an expectation of privacy that wast being violated. We demand the owner turn over any recorded footage."

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by ihtoit ( 3393327 )

      if said stranger is pointing his camera into my daughter's bedroom, I'll make him eat the fucking thing.

      • Re: (Score:2, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward

        Fine, just don't interrupt her webcam show. She probably earns more than you do.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by vux984 ( 928602 )

      I wonder how many people would walk
      up to a stranger, grab their camera and throw it hard to the pavement - its much the same thing really.

      I disagree. Its not the same thing at all, because any scenario involving a stranger involves a stranger.

      It doesn't escalate straight to throwing the camera to the pavement because I have other options to engage the stranger.

      But a drone 10 feet up? What am I supposed to do? Ask it politely to leave? I can do that to the stranger. I can also gauge his 'creepiness / intrusiveness' factor much easier as well; as well as how receptive he is to the fact that I'm not happy he's there, etc.

      • I wonder how many people would walk
        up to a stranger, grab their camera and throw it hard to the pavement - its much the same thing really.

        I disagree. Its not the same thing at all, because any scenario involving a stranger involves a stranger.

        It doesn't escalate straight to throwing the camera to the pavement because I have other options to engage the stranger.

        But a drone 10 feet up? What am I supposed to do? Ask it politely to leave? I can do that to the stranger. I can also gauge his 'creepiness / intrusiveness' factor much easier as well; as well as how receptive he is to the fact that I'm not happy he's there, etc.

        I agree with your reasoning.

        I don't see why it's any different than someone tossing any object onto my yard, remote control or not, on the ground, in the air, in a tree, on my roof, all the same. I believe I have the right to physically move it if I don't want it there. No need to damage it more than necessary to move it, but I don't need to leave it there, and it's not like we can call for a professional tow as we would for a car. Something as expensive as a drone is going right to the police department

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by arth1 ( 260657 )

      I'd say the best way to down a drone is using a bigger drone.

    • its much the same thing really.

      Not really, as you can typically see whether my camera is on or not (most P&S cameras have an automatic lens cap) or if the lens cap is present (anyone who gives a fig about their camera makes damn sure the lens cap is on it while not actively shooting). On top of that, it's easy to tell what I'm actively shooting and if, for some reason, you can't figure that out, you can always ask me. Unless you can see radio waves and somehow pick out which of the tens of thousands of waves hitting the drone are the

  • Bent properller? (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Most "drones" are using carbon or plastic propellers. These do not "bend". Well, they might bend but then they go right back to normal.

    Also, can we maybe, just maybe, call these things what they are? Remote controlled quad/hexa/octo-copters? Most of the time these are not "drones". Drones are autonomous and very few hobbyist fly autonomous drones (although it is actually very easy).

  • Silly string (Score:4, Insightful)

    by wierd_w ( 1375923 ) on Saturday August 08, 2015 @11:33PM (#50277879)

    If it comes too close, a can of silly string [silly-string.com] would gum up the propellers quite nicely, even on large drones.

    Water cannon is cheaper though.

  • Garden hose (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Fencepost ( 107992 ) on Saturday August 08, 2015 @11:37PM (#50277895) Journal
    Seems to me that a garden hose with a good high-quality nozzle may be your best bet. No questions about how close it is, no questions about using something dangerous, etc.

    You still have the legal liability question, but I think the first thing to do on that if someone were to challenge you would be to subpoena any and all video, photo and GPS logs created by the person suing. Possibly (assuming you have a lawyer involved to write this up) with some sort of motion to compel or attempt to seize computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. along with flash cards, etc. to ensure that responsive materials weren't destroyed.

    Of course, you might also look into the options of very low-powered (to avoid widespread damage, for safety, and for size) HERF guns. "Really, it just fell out of the sky! What the hell was the pilot doing dropping that thing on us? He could have hurt someone!"

    • Re:Garden hose (Score:5, Funny)

      by mysidia ( 191772 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @12:07AM (#50277975)

      Why am I suddenly imaging a joystick-controlled turret mounted on the roof, connected to the water line.... with a booster pump for long-range spraying?

      For repelling unwanted birds, of course

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by TWX ( 665546 )

      Seems to me that a garden hose with a good high-quality nozzle may be your best bet. No questions about how close it is, no questions about using something dangerous, etc. You still have the legal liability question, but I think the first thing to do on that if someone were to challenge you would be to subpoena any and all video, photo and GPS logs created by the person suing. Possibly (assuming you have a lawyer involved to write this up) with some sort of motion to compel or attempt to seize computers, smartphones, tablets, etc. along with flash cards, etc. to ensure that responsive materials weren't destroyed. Of course, you might also look into the options of very low-powered (to avoid widespread damage, for safety, and for size) HERF guns. "Really, it just fell out of the sky! What the hell was the pilot doing dropping that thing on us? He could have hurt someone!"

      Or, I donno, you could render the camera/video transmission nonfunctional (if the water didn't do that already) and simply take the thing indoors, then not answer the door when they come knocking, and also not answer the door if they bring a patrolman to knock.

      It's very unlikely that a police officer will do any more than knock on the door on the complainant's behalf. If no one answers the officer isn't going to force the issue, and the officer doesn't really have any responsibility as far as civil law

      • Or, I donno, you could render the camera/video transmission nonfunctional (if the water didn't do that already) and simply take the thing indoors, then not answer the door when they come knocking, and also not answer the door if they bring a patrolman to knock.

        No, now you're committing a crime, and retaining evidence. But if you render the camera/video transmission nonfunctional, and then smash it into your patio so that it winds up in many pieces, who's to say what happened? They can have all the pieces back.

  • My weapon of choice would be (Score:3)

    by Applehu Akbar ( 2968043 ) on Saturday August 08, 2015 @11:49PM (#50277933)

    A Super Soaker filled with salt water.

  • Attached to end of a long rope and loaded into a harpoon gun....

  • Go after the owner/pilot (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Fencepost ( 107992 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @12:13AM (#50277991) Journal
    Going along with the wisdom that bringing a drone down may have some high costs associated with it and the associated recommendation of calling the police:

    Be aware of the FAA's Model Aircraft Operations rules and recommendations (https://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/) and be ready to go after someone flying a drone around above you - in particular reference section 336(a)(2) of the laws linked on that page, the "community-based set of safety guidelines and within the programming of a nationwide community-based organization." If someone gets antsy when you're pissed off about their drone use, liberal application of the hammer of "Why are you violating the FAA guidelines on drone use? Whose community-based standards DON'T require that you avoid flying your drone above and around uninvolved people? Are you a registered member of that organization? What's their contact information and your membership information?" might be merited.

    Depending on how things go you might actually get them ticketed for creating a public nuisance or something along those lines, and that's the kind of thing that can create a record that might be useful in the future.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by TWX ( 665546 )
      Or ask them to prove that the drone is theirs. They can start with the serial number.
    • You're confusing "guidelines" with "laws" (or "regulations"). In fact the FAA has NOT put anything formal into place, and the FAA modernization act explicitly prevents the FAA from doing so with regard to recreational use. The rulemaking that's currently pending applies only to prospective commercial use. Otherwise, the only thing that's actually proscribed is no different than it is with kites or weather balloons or anything else: stay out of the airspace used by actual airplanes, stay away from airports,
      • <blockquote>You're confusing "guidelines" with "laws" (or "regulations").</blockquote>

        No, I'm not. I'm not talking about trying to get the police to go after them for violations of some Federal statute that they've never heard of, I'm talking about putting them on the defensive and getting them to back off of flying their drone over your house. Citing the guidelines is a good start on that.

        And frankly if they're not flying it over your house then you just need to get over it.
        • At the moment, citing those guidelines is just as likely to impact a thoughtless RC pilot as is citing Miss Manners. If they're the type who already doesn't care, they already don't care. Telling them that an agency with no ability to actually impact them in any way because of the where they are, at that moment, flying ... isn't going to change baked-in jackassery one bit.

  • http://laughingsquid.com/annoy... [laughingsquid.com]
    Nailed it! 'nuf said...

  • Airzooka: $2
    Bread bag: free
    Postman latex band: basically free (just ask your local carrier for one)
    The sense of satisfaction from knowing that you used the Force to bring down another fucking drone: priceless.

  • Fly fishing reel with a heavy sinker (Score:3)

    by Antique Geekmeister ( 740220 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @12:43AM (#50278077)

    Any moderately capable fisherman who's used a fly fishing rod should be able to make a reasonable accurate cast to drop the lead "sinker" through the path of the propellors, with the monofilament dragged with it, fouling the rotors or even bodily hooking the drone. It also gives you the choice of cutting the line and walking away, or following the line to the crashed drone even if doesn't crash as close as you might wish.

    There are some modest risks of dragging monofilament around people's yards, and of hitting a bystander with a sinker, but it seems safer than firing faster projectiles in an inhabited area.

  • Vortex Cannon FTW (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Irate Engineer ( 2814313 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @12:51AM (#50278105)

    Knock the fucking thing out of the sky with a Vortex Cannon [youtube.com]. Do it the the right way with propane and fire!

    No projectile, plausible deniability, loud noise and flames, dead drone. WIN.

    Also works well against the neighbor's pets and the damned kids who keep walking on my lawn.

    • Yes, many simple solutions. Summarizing and expanding:

      * Airzooka –hand-held vortex-gun, good to about 25 feet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]

      * Silly String

      * Super Soaker

      * Garden Hose

      * Green laser-pointer (so you can see where you're aiming). 5 mW is enough to saturate the drone's CCD camera for a good 15 sec. 200 mW+ can be found — those should fry the camera, but who's going to have a record of it? Not the drone.

      * Jam its GPS? EM-Pulse. 1.23 &/or 1.56 GHz , directed via Pr

      • Too much work. Blast it with the Vortex Cannon, call police on drone owner and nail them for littering on your property. Somehow the SD card will be rendered unreadable during this process (propane and fire; geez, thing must of fell on my barbecue grill or something, damnedest luck). Done.

        That's a nice drone you got there neighbor...it'd be a shame if something happened to it, wouldn't it?

  • Its designed to shoot down flying ducks and geese, drone can't be too much harder : )

  • Meh (Score:3)

    by Hamsterdan ( 815291 ) on Sunday August 09, 2015 @01:33AM (#50278223)

    A real geek will take it down with his Bat'leth and scream victory

  • An interceptor drone, equiped with an unnecessary amount of spikes, skull decals and a rusty paint job should do the trick.

  • - Swiss made Oerlikon is what you use to shoot down Mi-29 warships in the mountains, right?
    - Oerlikons are a good start, but the Russians will start flying higher altitude missions,

  • Let's start flinging objects around that can hurt other people or damage other things if you miss the drone (and you probably will miss the drone). Yes, the person flying the drone over your backyard is being a jackass but I doubt your neighbours are going to be won over to your side if you break their windows with a slingshot or hit them with a paint gun. If the neighbour is throwing crap into my yard I'm going to be upset at my neighbour and not at the guy flying the drone. Just because one person in y

  • just fly a kite up to it and let the kite string foul the drone. $5 kite takes down $500+ drone. also a kite with a bit of wind can move faster than most drones so catching it shouldn't be much of a problem.

  • You can simply have it.

    Put a transmitter on your drone that rolls through known frequencies (1.2, 2.4, 5.8GHz, 433MHz, etc.). Fly your drone close to the enemy drone, roll through the frequency list and take control ownership. Have your drone proxy transmitter events from the ground so your buddy can fly the enemy drone back to you.

    Nobody is encrypting control transmission (yet). I believe it is illegal to encrypt traffic on amateur radio bands...

  • I'd think that a device that can shoot something to entangle one or more of the propellers would be the most effective and safest method. Something that shoots a net or a string at the drone, which then fouls the props. It it was a string then it could be attached, allowing you to reel in the drone if you didn't manage to entangle a prop, but did manage to get it hooked on the chassis. Or, how about this: A super-soaker, but that's filled with something just sticky enough to foul up the propeller(s), compro

  • Bolas, 007.

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