<Russia is currently developing a line or network of barrage balloons to protect against devastating drone attacks from Ukraine. A barrage balloon is a ground-anchored light gas balloon, either hydrogen or helium, that supports a large physical protective net in the sky.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barrage_balloon
<In the first week of July, the Russian company First Airship announced its intention to switch from producing cargo airships to defense manufacturing, according to Business Insider, citing Russia's state news agency RIA Novosti.https://www.businessinsider.com/russia-use-wwii-tactic-defend-against-ukrainian-drone-strikes-2024-7
<The barrage balloon nets are quite large in size. The balloons would be raised to a height of 300 meters, and 250-meter-wide defense nets would be suspended from them.
<A single balloon can carry a load of 30 kilograms, suggesting that the nets are woven from rather thin lines.
<First Airship also envisions equipping their barrage balloons with cannons that would launch smaller nets over incoming drones.
<It remains to be seen how Russia's literal defense nets will impact Ukraine's drone attacks. In recent months, Ukraine has successfully bombed Russian airfields, oil refineries, and other strategic targets up to 1500 kilometers from the front line using drones.
<Barrage balloons are a technology from around 110 years ago, dating back to World War I. They were used most extensively during World War II, particularly by the Western Allies.
<The nearly 3000 barrage balloons that protected Britain forced Nazi Germany's aircraft to fly higher, allowing anti-aircraft guns to better track and shoot down the attackers.
<As a result, Germany had to abandon its dive-bombing tactics in its air war against Britain, although barrage balloon nets did not prevent higher-flying bombers. In addition to countering dive-bombing, Britain's barrage balloon network also helped intercept German V-1 cruise missiles.
<The Royal Air Forces Association, a British Air Force veterans' organization, has assessed that the significance of barrage balloons in the country's air defense during World War II was "vital."https://rafa.org.uk/blog/2020/10/13/barrage-balloons-in-the-second-world-war/Are barrage balloons the ultimate weapon against drones? Is this the end of drone warfare? Or will drones simply fly over these obstacles?