Sounds like a job for “The Sling Shot Man”
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Ah. Tesla’s Death Ray. Once again Steampunk saves the day.
At work, tiny RC helicopters tend to bring the nerf guns out.
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Unfortunately a drone can be effective (at least for surveillance) while cruising at altitudes more commonly used by airliners. This is a bit out of range for mechanical artillery, even a pneumatic cannon. So its either another drone (I like the idea of dropping nets, possibly with a parachute, to disrupt those without propellers to foul), or a rail gun with “muzzle” velocities high enough (likely >3km/sec) to get the needed height.
They would be a difficult target, small, and possibly employing radar minimizing technology.
As far as I know the rubber band slingshot is the only “new” (post gunpowder) mechanical artillery, as they didn’t have suitable rubber until Goodyear did his thing.
That German guy is nuts/dangerous. The metal “Oreo’s” were some of the tamer things - try circular saw blades and machetes.
The biggest slingshot I know of was called “Loaded Boing”, basically a 10 meter ramp (built from a trailer) with a whole load of surgical rubber tubing to motivate things, and a 20 ton truck mounted winch for pullback. It would hurl a “regulation” 3.5-4.5kg (8-10lb) pumpkin around 300m (1,000 feet). (but their preferred projectile was an empty beer keg)
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Hope you weren’t going to say “terrorists”?
WHY SO SERIOUS?
I doubt Mark is really advocating that kids shoot down drones.
Isn’t that actually a “wrist rocket”?
I think Mark would frown on me giving Hannah a factory-built slingshot and would have made a better one with Jane.
Wasn’t planning on it. That word has lost any meaning it once had. Also, it’s hard to envision a terrorist with a slingshot - they just aren’t that terrifying.
Cool. I guess I would call using “terrorists” trolling, but not, say, “freedom fighters”?
Something I’ve been thinking about since we entered the age of drone warfare. There are likely any number of low-tech countermeasures that you can take against drones. But any such techniques or tactics you discover are only going to be good against the current iteration of drone technology. From the point of view of the drone-makers, we’re at v. 1.0, and this is destructive field testing. The next generation of drones won’t be susceptible to slingshots, pocket-laser dazzling, jamming, nets, streamers, etc.
OTOH, drone technology itself is hardly space-age, and the barriers are dropping all the time. So the technological advantage currently enjoyed by drone-deploying forces like the US are going to be short-lived, and it won’t be long before we’re watching air-to-air dronefighting videos on YouTube.
Drones and other military/tactical robotics are the beginning of a new arms race, and the end state is by no means obvious.
This bit from the Heavy Metal movie of the court appointed drone rescuing the scoundrel defendant is a hoot.
Scene time 4:10
Who wouldn’t want a life preserving flying aide?
Came to post this very fellow. He’s fucking awesome. Him & Jorge oughta get together.
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