The Hemp Dome
“Zane, finish your breakfast! You’ll be late for school,” Nova scolded her son.
Zane was not in the mood for a rebuttal, just letting out a guttural groan.
She pulled back the blinds for just a moment. She knew it was a risk, but it made her more comfortable if she knew what was outside. The interior lights automatically dimmed to keep the proper light and color balance.
There weren’t any drones outside, but she knew that it wasn’t a sign of anything. They could appear out of nowhere.
“Get your backpack. Be swift about it.”
Her son hopped off the stool and picked up his things.
She opened the door and pushed the child out hastily.
“Come on,” she said, continuing to have her hand on his back.
She flinched as she heard the soft electric buzz of the enemy. The drone was fast and small, probably no bigger than her head. She reflexively pushed Zane into the grass and covered him.
“Stay down,” she whispered. “It’ll be over in a few moments.”
The drone’s buzzing was growing louder. She knew it had spotted her and identified her as an enemy combatant. Even years later, its facial recognition could still point her out.
She lifted her head to see the dot growing larger.
Then the city’s defenses activated. From one of the many weapon depots, an anti-drone missile fired. It flew towards the target.
Just as the two collided, the missile suddenly detonated. A rope net expanded and wrapped itself around the drone.
Its propellers got stuck and it could no longer fly. The machine fell straight to the ground, presumably shattering.
“It’s alright now. Let’s keep going,” she said as she lifted her son.
“Were you scared mommy?” Zane asked.
“No. I have a lot of trust in our Hemp Dome system.”
We are seeing the future of war play out in Ukraine, as they use a large number of cheap drones for surveillance and as a weapon. As one person speculated in a Politco piece, we may see the rise of nets as a way to protect critical infrastructure and jam drones before they reach the target.
These drones may also be using computer vision to autonomously target Russian soldiers specifically. I don’t know if that’s a good idea, but it seems to be working.