New drone will hunt down other drones and crash them

‘Rapere’ hunts down drones and then drops string to tangle up their wings and stop them flying

People could face prosecution for flying drones dangerously (PA)

A company is planning a drone to hunt other drones, which it thinks will be bought by people including celebrities that want to stop being spied on.

The “Rapere” drone will intercept others, fly above them and then dropping a “tangle-line” onto the drone, to stop it flying.

The drone works automatically, using a series of cameras facing in every direction to pinpoint its targets, according to its makers’ website.

The company hopes that the drone will be used by people hoping to stop paparazzi and others using the drones to spy and snoop on people, such as celebrities or events.

The group, made up of people who claim to have worked in the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) business “for years”, said that they are “in talks about mass production, while continuing to develop the product”. They said that when it is sold it won’t be cheap, and will be “priced as a professional tool — we don’t want this to become a toy people can use to disrupt legitimate drone use”.

The group appear to be aware of the potential problems of the drone. They said that while the drone itself isn’t illegal, it could be in some areas, and that it is working on a way of stopping people abusing the product. It also said that buyers will need to be qualified, and will need to be able to show some legitimate use, such as working as public safety officials or event organisers.

On a discussion board on the company’s website, many took against the drone, arguing that it either wouldn’t work or shouldn’t be made.

“I invite you to try and catch any of our drones, hell I will out fly you 10 out of 10 times with a Phantom [consumer drone],” wrote the owner of a website for drone videos.

The site’s owners replied said “We would love for you to provide such expensive equipment for us to test with, thank you for the offer”.

After a run of similar comments, the makers addressed “Anyone willing to provide any drone, including cine drones”, and told them to send in drones for testing and that they would send “back the pieces along with a video”.