[nradov]

There is no practical way to use EMP as a defense against small drones. That's something that only works in movies, not real life. Generating enough power to disrupt electronics at a useful range requires a powerful explosion.

The military uses a mix of jammers, small missiles, guns, and (soon) lasers.

[Animats]

There are some jammers, but they're not too useful if the drone is programmed to head out of jammer range if jammed. Currently, the most useful weapons against small drones are compressed air guns that fire nets.[1]

[1] https://youtu.be/M6tT1GapCe4

[mLuby]

If we're talking a commercial quadcopter drone, is it feasible to auto-target it via microphones and then shoot some CIWS at it? Something like this https://youtu.be/LThD0FMvTFU?t=42 but drones and bullets instead of mortars and lasers.

It's be nice if you could slap an anti-drone turret onto your vehicle to protect the airspace for a hundred meters.

Maybe jamming exceeds commercial drones' flight ceiling, but if not, dropping stuff from high up always does damage.

[Animats]

There are a number of bulky systems intended for larger targets which will work against drones, but most are not very portable. Ship-mounted systems such as CWIS do work.[1] But all those shells that don't hit the target land someplace.

[1] https://youtu.be/3UVuV5WvraQ

[nradov]

The land based CIWS uses self destructing shells so any that didn't hit the target explode into small, relatively safe fragments. But it's still risky to use in populated areas

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36412/centurions-roari...

[mLuby]

> But all those shells that don't hit the target land someplace.

Just don't miss! It's only a few hundred meters out.

Oh CWIS are only ship-mounted? I thought it was a general term. I like PDC better anyway. #TheExpanse

Nice video—are those all tracers though?

[sbierwagen]

The land-based version of CIWS is called Centurion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS#Centurion_C-RAM

C-RAM shells are supposed to self-destruct, but EOD guys will tell you that fuzes do not have a 100% operational rate. Another problem is cost and magazine size:

>The Block 1A and newer (pneumatic driven) CIWS mounts fire at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute with a 1,550-round magazine.

>Shells fired by the Phalanx cost around $30 each and the gun typically fires 100 or more when engaging a target.[14]

So it's about three grand to zap one drone, and you get 15 shootdowns before a human needs to shovel more ammo into the turret. That would make it vulnerable to a saturation attack. A hundred drones carrying grenades that home in on the CIWS radar would be tough to counter.

[ericd]

> Nice video—are those all tracers though?

Well, it's video game footage (ARMA 3, according to the title).