Russian firm claims first drone kill with barrage balloon

Russian aviation design bureau Pervyi Dirizhabl claimed that its Barrier PAK barrage-balloon system brought down a fixed-wing drone weighing about 100 kilograms and measuring roughly four metres across the wings. The system uses small aerostats to hold a physical barrier aloft as a passive defence against uncrewed aircraft. The company first presented the design in July 2024, and earlier footage showed tests of the system. The company gave no date or location for the claimed interception and did not identify the aircraft’s operator, and the reported result has not been independently confirmed.