Fine-tuned acoustic waves can knock drones out of the sky

Researchers have shown that acoustic energy — precisely tuned sound waves — can disrupt and even disable small drones in flight. Scientists experimented by generating sound at specific frequencies that interfere with the internal mechanical and electronic systems drones depend on, such as gyroscopes and navigation sensors. In early demonstrations, drones exposed to these sound waves became unstable or crashed, suggesting that acoustic methods could be a non-kinetic alternative to conventional counter-drone technologies like jamming or physical interception.

Prandtl Dynamics directly illustrates the real-world application of the acoustic counter-drone concept described in the Economist article.

The startup — founded by engineering students — has developed systems that use focused sound waves to interfere with drone navigation and stability, essentially knocking drones out of the sky by exploiting resonances in their mechanical and electronic components. This aligns with the research described in the article, where acoustic energy disrupts flight systems rather than relying on radar, radio jamming, or physical interceptors.