Fishing for drones: a Ukrainian box that fires nets at FPVs heads for serial production
Phantom Defense says ten units are already in combat trials, and Militarnyi watched the system work at a test range.
Ukraine's Phantom Defense is preparing to mass-produce the Mangal system, which fires nets at Russian FPV drones. The system aims to protect Ukrainian vehicles from drones operating within 15 to 30 kilometers of the front line. Mangal is designed to be mounted on vehicles rather than deployed by trucks. The system was first shown at IT Arena in late September, with production units expected to reach market within a few months.
Phantom Defense acquired the developer of Karakurt net launchers in October. The Mangal system consists of camera-equipped blocks that cover about 90 degrees each, with full coverage requiring multiple blocks. It detects drones at approximately 40 meters against trees, with a range exceeding 60 meters against the sky. Each shot costs about $44, including a 6-by-6-meter net.
The system claims at least 12 hours of runtime and is designed to work in conjunction with electronic warfare measures. Mangal has been tested on various vehicles, including Stryker, armored vehicles, pickups, ground robots, and boats. Ten systems have undergone combat trials, successfully repelling two FPV attacks. The company is also developing Mangal 2.0, incorporating feedback from soldiers.
If successful, nets could complement jammers on vehicles like the MAC OWL, which can accommodate up to 10 electronic-warfare modules.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
