Used Deep-Sea Nets from France Become Crucial Shield Against Enemy Drones in Ukraine
Along the coastal quaysides of the Breton shoreline, stacks of used fishing gear stand as a regular occurrence.
The operational period of deep-sea fishing nets generally extends between 12 and 24 months, after which they become damaged and unusable.
Now, this horsehair netting, previously employed for catching deep-sea fish from the marine bottom, is being repurposed for an unexpected target: Russian drones.
Charitable Project Transforms Marine Waste
A Breton charity has sent two shipments of nets measuring 280km to Ukraine to defend soldiers and civilians along the battle areas where fighting is fiercest.
Russia employs inexpensive unmanned aircraft equipped with explosives, directing them by remote control for spans of up to 25km.
"During the past 24 months, the war has mutated. Initially we barely imagined about drones, but now it's a aerial combat conflict," commented a humanitarian organizer.
Tactical Application of Fishing Nets
Military personnel use the nets to create tunnels where unmanned aircraft rotors become entangled. This technique has been described as spiders catching flies in a web.
"The Ukrainians have told us they don't need any old nets. They have been sent multiple that are unusable," the representative explained.
"Our specific shipments are made of specialized material and used for deep-sea fishing to catch strong marine species which are exceptionally strong and impact the material with a force comparable to that of a drone."
Growing Implementations
At first deployed by healthcare workers defending field hospitals near the frontline, the nets are now being used on transport routes, overpasses, the entrances to hospitals.
"It's remarkable that this elementary solution functions so efficiently," remarked the humanitarian director.
"We don't have deficit of trawling material in this region. It presents a challenge to know where to send them as several companies that recycle them have closed."
Operational Difficulties
The humanitarian group was established after expatriate citizens approached the leaders requesting help regarding clothing, food and medical supplies for their homeland.
A team of helpers have delivered two vehicle loads of humanitarian assistance 1,430 miles to the border crossing point.
"After being informed that Ukraine sought protective gear, the fishing community responded immediately," commented the humanitarian coordinator.
Aerial Combat Development
Russian forces employ real-time visual vehicles similar to those on the consumer sector that can be controlled by remote radio control and are then loaded with explosives.
Hostile controllers with instant visual data steer them to their destinations. In various locations, Ukrainian forces report that nothing can move without attracting the attention of swarms of "lethal" suicide aircraft.
Protective Tactics
The trawling material are suspended from structures to create mesh corridors or used to protect trenches and equipment.
Friendly aerial vehicles are also fitted with fragments of material to deploy against opposition vehicles.
In recent periods, Ukraine was confronting more than 500 drones per day.
International Assistance
Hundreds of tonnes of discarded marine material have also been donated by marine workers in Sweden and Denmark.
An ex-marine industry representative declared that local fishers are extremely pleased to support the defense cause.
"They experience satisfaction to know their used material is going to contribute to safety," he informed media.
Financial Challenges
The organization has exhausted the funds to dispatch additional materials this year and negotiations are occurring for Ukraine to provide transport to retrieve the gear.
"We will help obtain the gear and prepare them but we are without the financial capacity to continue running convoys ourselves," commented the charity spokesperson.
Practical Limitations
An armed services communicator stated that protective mesh corridors were being installed across the Donetsk region, about the majority of which is now reported to be captured and administered by enemy troops.
She explained that opposition vehicle controllers were continuously developing ways to breach the netting.
"Protective material cannot serve as a panacea. They are just a single component of defense from drones," she stressed.
An ex-agricultural business owner described that the people he interacted with were moved by the assistance from French fishing towns.
"The reality that those in the coastal economy the distant part of the continent are dispatching gear to assist their protection efforts has created moving moments to their eyes," he remarked.