Rus firma ilk insansız hava aracının baraj balonuyla öldürüldüğünü iddia etti

A Russian barrage balloon fitted with protective cables has brought down a fixed-wing İHA weighing about 100 kg (220 pounds) for the first time, the head of the company that developed it said. Polina Albek, founder of the aviation design bureau Pervyi Dirizhabl ("First Airship"), made the claim in comments carried by Russian media. "Yes, there are successful examples of using aerostats to protect against İHAs. A fixed-wing UAV, weighing around 100 kg and with a wingspan of about four meters," Albek said. She did not say where or when the interception took place or whose İHA it was. The claim has not been independently verified. Footage released earlier showed tests of barrage balloons strung with tensioned cables and Kevlar cords, designed to stop Ukrainian kamikaze İHAs. Barrage balloons were widely used in both world wars to protect cities, ports and factories from low-flying aircraft, which risked tearing their wings on the steel tethers. Pervyi Dirizhabl's version replaces the single tether with a net or web of cables lifted by small aerostats, aimed at slow, low-flying İHAs that follow preset routes and cannot see the obstacle in their path. The company first presented its system, called Barrier PAK, in July 2024. Albek told the Russian daily Izvestia at the time that the small balloons can lift a net to about 1,000 meters (3,300 feet), with each aerostat carrying up to 20 kg (44 pounds) and placed 250 to 300 meters apart, so the size of the p