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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Technology
HAL 90210

A drone is no match for the high-tech weaponry of the middle ages

It’s the battle of our age … drone v spear.

What’s the greatest weakness of a drone? Partial marks if you said an eagle, a radio frequency jammer, or another drone.

But no, the real answer is “Russian historical re-enactors armed with a spear”, as this video from Russia’s Rusborg gathering earlier this month reveals.

Unlike the high-tech method of drones armed with nets designed to down other drones, hitting a small quadcopter with a spear isn’t the safest way to take down an annoying interloper. Not only do you risk spearing someone if you miss, but the drone itself probably won’t come out of it in the best shape: the drone’s operators, UAV photographers from Lipetsk, say it’s now heading off to Moscow for repairs.

In addition to that, there’ are not many circumstances when wandering around with a spear is a good idea. Still, can’t hurt to try.

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