Ukrainian drone tech firm Ptashka Systems has presented a new way to counter Russian roadside ambush drones by using interceptor drones that drop nets on them. The system is designed to neutralize so-called “waiting drones” — FPVs that land near logistics routes, switch off their motors, and lie in ambush until a vehicle appears.

This Ptashka Systems’ solution avoids the loss of both Ukrainian drones and ammunition — Ukrainian drone pilots often destroy such roadside ambushes by striking them with their own FPV drones. Ukrainian forces already use nets in limited cases to intercept airborne drones.

Dropped nets disable ambush FPVs

Ptashka Systems published a video showing how its drones can release special cartridges carrying nets directly onto hidden Russian FPVs, waiting on the ground.

Once covered, the ambush drones cannot take off, as the nets block their propellers and render them uncontrollable, Militarnyi noted, adding that the advantage of this approach is that the enemy drone remains stuck in its ambush, forcing its operator to waste time waiting for a target that never comes.

“When the target appears, the net complicates or makes it impossible for the “waiting drone” to take off — it physically cannot rise because its propellers are blocked. This neutralization mechanism makes the drone uncontrollable and disables it,” Militarnyi says.

The developers invited Ukrainian Mavic drone pilots to take part in the effort and announced that Ptashka Systems is ready to provide free cartridges with nets to those operators.