Russia deploys barrage balloons to defend oil refineries from drones

Russia has installed barrage balloons with cables and radar-controlled altitude motors around oil refineries to counter Ukrainian drone attacks. A demonstration showed effectiveness only against small UAVs, raising doubts about the measure's real value.

• Balloons lift cables, with height adjusted by motors using radar data
• Earlier net-based balloons failed as drones simply flew over them
• Demo only tested small drones; no real attacks have been intercepted
• In the 1940s barrage balloons downed about 200 V1 rockets but failed against high-altitude bombers