Russia has unveiled a protective concept named Barrier that uses a fleet of balloons, each supporting a floating net to intercept drones near critical facilities. According to reports from RIA Novosti, Polina Albek, the general director of JSC First Airship, explained the project during a presentation in St. Petersburg at a conference focused on technologies for detecting and countering unmanned aerial vehicles. The briefing highlighted how the system combines buoyant lifting with lightweight netting to create a deterrent layer around sensitive sites.
The Barrier system is designed to lift its nets to a height of up to 300 meters, using balloons that are manufactured in house by First Airship and supplemented by nets produced at partner private facilities. The engineering team emphasized that the maximum load carried by each balloon is about 30 kilograms, enough to capture smaller drones without risking collateral damage to the surrounding area. The approach leverages a modular concept where each balloon acts as a node in a broader protective grid that can be deployed rapidly in response to drone incursions.
Historical influences play a role in the design idea, with the developers citing the early use of tethered airships and rope-based defenses from the first half of the last century as a source of inspiration. Field tests at an established test site have demonstrated the ability to deploy the system at height, and initial demand has begun to materialize through pre-orders. The testing phase has validated the concept of an autonomous capture-and-redeploy cycle, where an approaching target is ensnared by a net, then the net is released with the captured drone secured, and a fresh net is positioned for subsequent interceptions.
First Airship JSC has a longstanding focus on cargo airship technology, and the Barrier project marks a strategic expansion into anti-drone measures. The company stresses that the Barrier system is not a single device but a scalable set of platforms designed to shield critical infrastructure from aerial threats by providing an effective, non-destructive interception method.
The organizers of the conference on Technologies for Detecting and Countering UAVs are positioned to showcase developments in this field during the event held on July 1–2 in St. Petersburg. The event is led by RuDrones, a competence center in unmanned technologies, in collaboration with Vector Research Institute. The gathering is expected to draw participation from industry researchers, defense specialists, and policy makers seeking practical solutions for drone management and safeguard protocols.
Alongside Barrier, industry observers noted recent milestones in Russia related to the pace of processor production, underscoring a broader push toward domestic capacity in critical components. The interplay between hardware innovation and aerial defense systems reflects a national strategy to strengthen security through technological self-reliance while encouraging collaboration with private manufacturing partners.