A soldier with the call sign Poliak from the National Guard's Omega unit holds an first-person-view drone caught in a net during a training exercise in an unnamed location, Ukraine, on Oct. 20, 2026. (Jakub Laichter/The Kyiv Independent)
At a training with the Ukrainian National Guard’s Omega unit, engineers from the defense tech company BlueBird Tech describe how to use their net gun, named Chipa, to entangle an approaching drone’s propellers.
The soldiers rehearse encounters with approaching first-person-view (FPV) drones, monitoring a handheld detector as they walk. Once they spot a drone, one soldier who goes by the callsign Poliak (Ukrainian for "Pole"), pulls the safety pin and takes aim with the net gun, while the others take cover in the bushes.
With a loud boom Poliak fires, and the net spreads through the air, catching the drone and tangling in its propellers.
Chipa was originally designed for civilians living in the expanding "kill zone" on the front lines where Russian soldiers target people shopping, civilian vehicles, and even ambulances in what has become known as a "human safari."
As the danger spreads into roads and neighborhoods behind the front, the appearance of the net gun shows just how the threats usually associated with battlefields are becoming a part of everyday civilian life in Ukraine.
"FPV drones now threaten everyone in the front line areas," says Eduard, an engineer from BlueBird Tech who asked to be identified by first name only for security reasons.
"The enemy does not distinguish between civilians and soldiers now," Poliak says.
While a drone detector can give civilians warning and time to seek cover, the net gun is intended for the moment when the drone is already close. Each launcher costs around Hr 3,000 (around $67) and can be fired only once, according to Eduard.
It was important for them that Chipa was classified as a non-firearm, which allows civilians to buy it without a firearms permit, he said.
The soldiers from the Omega unit are leaving for the front line the next day. Poliak has been fighting since 2015 and describes how the pace of change on Ukraine’s battlefields had accelerated in recent years. The dangerous part of any mission comes mostly from moving between positions.
"When you have to move out in the open, the enemy can see you from drones," he says.
In combat, Poliak’s unit carries the net guns alongside shotguns. At longer distances, he prefers the shotgun, he says. Close in, he said, the net’s wider coverage offered a better chance of stopping a drone. Eduard put its most effective range at 10 to 20 meters, depending on wind, and the drone speed.
But there is little room for error, because a drone caught in a net can still explode. Poliak said some intercepted drones had detonated, putting nearby soldiers at risk from the blast and shrapnel. A drone exploding a few meters away instead of hitting someone directly can still mean the difference between life and death.
Asked about the danger from a drone’s explosive payload, Poliak’s answer was simple: "The farther away, the better."