Russia plans to build a network of barrage balloons inspired by the First and Second World Wars to thwart Ukraine’s daring drone attacks
A Russian aerospace firm says it has already begun testing balloons capable of holding up a net that, it is hoped, will offer protection against the long-range strikes that have badly damaged energy infrastructure and other key targets deep inside Russia.
The balloons are designed to launch from hangars, rise quickly in a row and then drop a 250m-tall net to form a defensive cordon.
Polina Albek, the general director of First Airship, told a conference in St Petersburg this week that the balloons had already been tested and that her company had received orders.
She said: “Our main activity is building cargo airships but today, based on the experience of our ancestors, we have created the ‘Barrier’ protection system.”
Suspected prototype
Photographs of a suspected prototype showed a white balloon with large blue fins at its rear floating above a birch forest and a lake.
First Airship has said that each balloon can float up to 300m above the ground and has a maximum load of 30kg, enough to carry the light net that hangs just above the ground.
The balloons can also be equipped with radar, electronic jammers and video cameras which give 360-degree views with a range of up to seven miles.
Ms Albek said: “These capabilities allow for substantial vertical coverage, creating an effective barrier against low-flying drones that threaten sensitive locations. The drones can’t see the mesh net, it’s too thin for them.”
Russian military bloggers have called for improved defences against Ukrainian drones which have hit Russian air bases, oil refineries and even an advanced radar system intended to give early warning of a nuclear missile launch.
