Faced with growing drone threats, security forces near the Afghan border in Pakistan have adopted an extraordinary and unconventional method of defense. In several areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, police checkposts have been fitted with fishing nets draped across rooftops and outer walls to intercept explosives-carrying drones.
Reports indicate that amid persistent drone threats in districts like Hangu, authorities have deployed these makeshift physical barriers. The primary objective is to entangle the propellers of incoming drones, causing them to stall or drop before reaching their targets.
Entangling Rotors and Low-Cost Security
According to local officials, if a drone's rotor gets caught in the mesh, its flight is disrupted. Furthermore, security personnel believe that even if a drone detonates right above the net, the dispersal of shrapnel might be altered away from the troops stationed below. Rather than serving as a replacement for high-tech anti-drone systems, these nets act as an inexpensive supplementary layer of defense.
Cost efficiency is cited as a major driver for this move. Covering a standard police outpost with fishing nets costs roughly 400,000 Pakistani rupees (approximately 1.3 lakh Indian rupees), making it a viable alternative to prohibitively expensive modern counter-drone technologies.
Growing Threat from Militant Drones
The reliance on such measures highlights the escalating security challenges posed by modified commercial drones utilized by groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). While security experts remain skeptical about whether simple nets can completely mitigate sophisticated aerial threats, local forces continue exploring every available option to secure vulnerable outposts.
'The Freelance' does not independently verify the authenticity of the claims made in this viral social media video, which has drawn widespread attention online. Video Credits: Respective Social Media Handle / Creator.
