Discarded Fishing Nets from France Evolve into Vital Shield To Counter Enemy Drones in Ukraine

On the port areas of France's Brittany coast, accumulations of old nets stand as a familiar view.

The lifespan of deep-sea fishing nets usually lasts between 12 and 24 months, after which they become deteriorated and irreparable.

Currently, this horsehair netting, once used to trawl monkfish from the marine bottom, is finding new application for an unexpected target: enemy unmanned aircraft.

Charitable Initiative Converts Fishing Byproducts

A coastal assistance group has dispatched two shipments of nets totaling 280 kilometers to Ukraine to protect military personnel and citizens along the frontline where fighting is fiercest.

Russian forces use inexpensive unmanned aircraft equipped with combat payloads, directing them by radio command for spans of up to 25 kilometers.

"During the past 24 months, the war has mutated. Initially we barely imagined about drones, but now it's a unmanned vehicle battle," stated a charity logistics coordinator.

Tactical Use of Marine Mesh

Military personnel use the nets to establish passageways where drone propellers become entangled. This approach has been described as web-building predators trapping prey in a web.

"Military representatives explained they require specific generic mesh material. They have been sent multiple that are unusable," the organizer added.

"The nets we are sending are made of equine fiber and used for ocean trawling to catch monkfish which are quite powerful and hit the nets with a power equivalent to that of a drone."

Expanding Implementations

At first employed by doctors protecting medical camps near the frontline, the nets are now being used on roads, crossings, the entrances to hospitals.

"It's remarkable that something so simple works so well," commented the charity president.

"There is no lack of fishing nets in this region. It presents a challenge to know where to send them as several companies that repurpose the gear have ceased operations."

Logistical Hurdles

The aid association was formed after local Ukrainians contacted the founders requesting help regarding essential provisions and healthcare materials for communities back home.

Numerous assistants have driven two truck shipments of relief supplies 2,300km to the Polish-Ukrainian frontier.

"When we learned that Ukraine needed nets, the coastal residents reacted rapidly," stated the charity director.

Aerial Combat Development

Russia is using first-person view drones similar to those on the commercial market that can be controlled by remote radio control and are then loaded with explosives.

Hostile controllers with live camera streams guide them to their destinations. In certain regions, defense units report that nothing can move without drawing the notice of clusters of "lethal" kamikaze drones.

Defensive Tactics

The trawling material are extended across supports to establish protective passageways or used to conceal defensive positions and transport.

Defense unmanned aircraft are also outfitted with pieces of netting to deploy against hostile aircraft.

In recent periods, Ukraine was confronting more than five hundred unmanned aircraft daily.

Global Support

Multiple tons of used fishing gear have also been contributed by marine workers in Nordic countries.

An ex-marine industry representative stated that local fishers are more than happy to assist the military campaign.

"They are proud to know their used material is going to help save lives," he told reporters.

Funding Challenges

The organization currently lacks the monetary means to send more supplies this year and negotiations are occurring for Ukraine to send lorries to pick up the nets.

"We will help get the nets and load them but we are without the financial capacity to continue running convoys ourselves," commented the humanitarian coordinator.

Practical Constraints

An armed services communicator stated that protective mesh corridors were being implemented across the Donetsk region, about three-quarters of which is now described as held and governed by enemy troops.

She explained that opposition vehicle controllers were progressively discovering ways to penetrate the mesh.

"Mesh does not represent a universal remedy. They are just a single component of safeguarding from drones," she emphasized.

A former produce merchant expressed that the Ukrainians he had met were moved by the help from maritime regions.

"The fact that those in the coastal economy the distant part of the continent are sending nets to help them defend themselves has brought a few tears to their eyes," he concluded.

Richard Cox
Richard Cox

A tech enthusiast and writer passionate about digital transformation and emerging technologies in Europe.