Behold The Russian Weed Whacker Tank
Spinning metal flails are the latest anti-drone innovation
The Russians are developing a weed whacker tank. A vehicle with fast-spinning flails on its sides and top. The small-scale, unmanned demonstrator recently appeared on Russian state television.
The metal flails are clearly intended to swat away incoming first-person-view drones. In that sense, they’re just the latest anti-drone innovation to emerge from an increasingly experimental military that has produced “turtle,” “porcupine,” “hedgehog” and “dandelion” tanks with—respectively—add-on metal shells, metal spines, metal hairs and branching metal petals. All designed to block FPVs.
The flail is awkward, ugly and frankly hilarious—like something out of one of those robot battle shows. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t work.
