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lukan: So this is basically a DIY mini rocket clearly advertised to be used in an asymetrical war. I do not expect this project to remain on github for long.

Mizza: This is bonkers. Video on GitHub: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDO2EvXyncEI'm impressed by the kid's engineering and gumption, but I think he's a bit.. misguided, if you'll pardon the pun. The video ends with shots of Russian drone war, and, bizarrely, photos of David Koresh.I don't think this ends well.

codethief: As the YouTube comments say:> This guy really wants that defense contract.

mikkupikku: Straight up admitting that it's meant to implement MANPADS is certainly a choice, I hope the author doesn't get himself in hot water.. ITAR or something..(Would be cool to see an ATGM variant too!)

throwaway290: Insanity. Airbus fighter jets, open-source rockets on github...

MagicMoonlight: Be very careful. Google and GitHub will turn you over without hesitation, and everyone who downloads this will probably be vanned.Remember kids, the warrantless search is only illegal if they don’t find a surface to air missile. Anything can be made retroactively legal if they find something like this.

randomNumber7: > This project manifesto declares a fundamental shift: advanced air-defense capabilities—once locked behind billion-dollar state arsenals and classified labs—are now within reach of determined individuals using consumer electronics, open-source software, and rapid prototyping.I guess a lot of people will not be happy with this xD

nutjob2: Airbus has been in the defense industry for a long time.And the deadliest weapons in war today are repurposed toys.

mschuster91: Just a few days ago, we got a legitimate from scratch open source design for a phased array radar [1].[1] https://hackaday.com/2026/03/12/open-source-radar-has-up-to-...

RobotToaster: Can't wait for the open source fighter jet.

redgridtactical: The engineering is genuinely impressive for $96, but naming the repo "MANPADS-System-Launcher-and-Rocket" on GitHub is going to attract exactly the kind of attention you don't want. ITAR implications aside, the interesting part is the mid-flight trajectory recalculation on a $5 sensor. That's the same basic problem military guidance systems solve with hardware that costs thousands.The gap between consumer electronics and mil-spec capability keeps shrinking and this is a pretty stark demonstration of where that trend leads. A few years ago this would have required an IMU that cost more than this entire build. The democratization angle cuts both ways though - the same accessibility that makes this cool for hobbyists makes it genuinely concerning from a proliferation standpoint.

mikkupikku: > The video ends with shots of Russian drone war, and, bizarrely, photos of David Koresh.You're omitting that the end of the video also features pictures of Martin Luther King, Vietnamese civilians during America's invasion of their country and Afghani Mujahideen freedom fighters during the Soviet Union's invasion of theirs; I think he's trying to make a point about technology enhancing the capabilities of people who are in any conflict with conventionally powerful forces, not an endorsement of David Koresh.

tzury: Given the navigation is done by the cameras (not GPS) you will also need to do some work with the second repository (by the same guy)-https://github.com/novatic14/Distributed-Camera-Node-Trackin...

JKCalhoun: Who knew there were war bros.

Xmd5a: > Description: Space echoes like an immense tomb, yet the stars still burn. Why does the sun take so long to die?

alansaber: Kid knows how to advertise

mikkupikku: It's not really terribly new actually, in the past, rapid advances in consumer technology have enabled other sort of weapon guidance systems. For instance, the development of extremely compact television cameras available to consumers directly lead to the development of the Walleye television bomb. It happened when one nerdy guy was fucking around with his new camera and realized that he could automatically track track features in an analogue television signal using some quite basic analogue electronics. Point the camera into the general direction of the target and you can then "lock on" to some target feature and based on contrast it could tell how that feature was moving around in the image.He implemented a 1D tracker in his garage, took it to work and showed people. A few years later these bombs are taking out bridges and even sometimes hitting moving trucks.

roysting: I encourage you to inform yourself about the truth about Waco. I cannot see how you could think pointing out the image is David Koresh while ignoring the images of what was done would indicate that you know the truth about that pivotal yet still obscured and hidden moment in American history.Scott Horton and others have been doing a great job of uncovering the truth of what happened during that event.[1] There is no excuse for not knowing, especially since I’m handling it to you on a platter.Spoiler Alert: the psychopathic narcissist in our government were evil and lying then, just like they were before Waco and ever since Waco. Imagine that; psychotic narcissists don’t just stop or were totally telling the truth that one time, even though they lie all other times about everything. The only thing you can believe about liars is that they are liars and will never stop lying; regardless of how many times you fell for their lies again.[1] https://scotthorton.org/search/waco

chewbacha: Sounds a lot more like a missile than a rocket.

abhikul0: Clawjet, secured with sandboxing, bring your own SKILLs.

pjc50: Translation: everyone should be able to shoot down an airliner, not just nations.

mirekrusin: John Connor.

getcrunk: I watched a YouTube video the other day about how the usa tracks missle launches globally. I would assume they have to pass a minimum threshold of power/heat/energy to be detectable.Let’s all pray this toy project, if readily upgradable, is also trackable and well … the way we keep law and order is by actual policing and prosecuting. So hopefully this doesn’t get out of hand.Very impressive, but very troubling.

stavros: Isn't it obvious that, if one person can do it, many more can do it as well, and probably have? It's not like they'll put it on GitHub.

niemandhier: A certain kind of mind deals with stress by devising solutions, even if one cannot put them into action.Seeing people in Israel, Iran, the general Middle East as well as the Ukraine live in fear of drone strikes might have incentivised this person to come up with a potential way to deal with these threats.Cheap air defense would equilibrate drone warfare again:Currently drones are much cheaper that the systems that take them down.

sschueller: I would invert that statement.The fact that home made drones can cause such havoc to even the best funded military is an equalizer when the military with all the power is actively trying to completely eliminate the otherside.There are no home made devices a Gazan can build that can protect from a 2000lbs bomb.

mikkupikku: MANPADS can be effective against large drones, but definitely not against the kind of FOV shit we see in Ukraine. They were originally designed to kill helicopters and low flying aircraft, and I'm guessing that's still his design intent.

jofzar: God, I feel like I am going to be on a list after clicking that link.The future is scary

mikkupikku: The HN headline is very euphemistic, but his own published materials aren't. He's openly saying it's a missile.

roysting: I hope the kid is aware that he better not commit anything even remotely like a crime, because they will try to stitch him up quick.

dalelux9196: that's lit

tclancy: > The gap between consumer electronics and mil-spec capability keeps shrinkingMy friend's brother works in munitions and had, in his spare time, designed and prototyped a missile that could be built for about 10k. He pretty much was ignored by the contractor he works for.Shockingly, as of a couple weeks ago, they are all hot and bothered to talk.

radialstub: > I think he's trying to make a point about technology enhancing the capabilities of people who are in any conflict with conventionally powerful forcesWhich is absurd, since all the technology he used was manufactured by the conventionally powerful forces and they can decide to not sell you their stuff.

myko: The white washing of Koresh is sickening to see. Similar to how some in the US idolize the traitor Colonel Robert E Lee.

isoprophlex: This is obviously a missile, and I'm not well-versed in weapons tech, but won't this need a camera to actually track and take out a flying object? So far I just see gps and barometric sensing...Also 3D printing and some electronics, ok fine, but where do you get the rocket propellant? That seems at least as critical as the software and sensing side of things...

lm28469: This thing doesn't do anything a launcher from the 70s couldn't do.Global detection is for balistic missiles, not things launched by human portable devices

tclancy: We might need them. Would be better than my theory that this country will recover at some point after they destroy the EPA and reintroduce leaded gas because that's what made this country great which leads to a generation of kids who are willing to throw bricks at cops again.

neatze: Many mention ITAR or some other issue, nothing about this project is even close to ITAR (as far I understand), connecting camera to rocket using it as guidance will get in trouble most likely, if not mistake only thing allowed is using camera to AIM at sun.https://www.youtube.com/@LafayetteSystems is similar project, also by actual defense contractor, and less opensource.

laborcontract: soo... i have no kept up with what's gone on in russia/ukraine. Are those drone videos what i think they are – drones sneaking up on humans and, presumably, ceasing them of life?

mikkupikku: Yes. Both sides are using explosive FOV drones, flown directly into soldiers (as well as other forms of drone warfare.)

hrmtst93837: Cheap sensors look impressive in demos but drift and calibration wreck repeatability unless you babysit launches so nobody in defense is sweating this yet.

holografix: Fascinating, is miniaturisation and “democratisation” of offensive capabilities via 3d printing and consumer tech going to impact defensive capabilities as well?Are we going to see foot troops carry one of these strapped to their backpacks and launched autonomously to counteract incoming drones?

redgridtactical: I wonder what could have possibly sparked that... lol

Hnrobert42: It is exciting to know a secret no one else does. David vs Goliath stories have always been powerful. It is seductive to think you have outsmarted the rest of society.Be careful who you let manipulate those emotions.

fph: [delayed]

roysting: They may just give it to him to buy him. It’s the first stage of neutralizing the peasantry of rebellious thoughts against the aristocracy.

gmerc: But do they drift enough to hit girls schools?

roysting: Try to pay attention please. Let’s try this; are you opposed to the government pumping 100 rounds into a person for some imagined “threat” they rationalize about after the fact? Koresh was not a great guy, kind of a piece of shit, just like the people the cops usually gun down, but that does not mean you need to take the low IQ government bait to excuse their lying and wanton murder and constant evil.

tamimio: Glad he’s in the US, I remember reading in Canada few months ago students got criminally charged for building and testing an anti-drone system.

roysting: It’s really odd how people will so easily fixate on the bone the government consisting of maniacal, narcissistic, psychopathic, pathological liars will throw them; while totally ignoring that the pathological lying, evil, murderous people in and of the government are constantly and ceaselessly, lying and murdering.There now carpet bombing and murdering people in Iran, just like they mass murdered people in Gaza, and they’re doing it to cover up and distract from the fact that our government consists of raping pedophiles. That is who we are governed by. … but David Koresh excuses it and makes any opposition invalid, of close.

huijzer: I was reading your comment and thought you were a bit too extreme, but then I thought about it and was like "Hmmm. Yes. Sounds pretty accurate actually." So yes I agree.

roysting: I am sorry to hear you suffer from mental deficiencies, but they are not secrets at all, you too can learn about the truth by following the link and informing ourself how the lying psychopaths in the government lied to you and made you the awful person that runs cover for evil like you are doing here.

laborcontract: thank you. that was unnerving to watch.

einpoklum: I am completely against the US-Israeli war on Iran. That said, they are not carpet-bombing Iran. That is, they appear to be selecting individual targets rather than engaging in carpet bombing entire areas:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carpet_bombingThe choice of targets is not legally legitimate (and the entire campaign is illegal AFAICT), and sometimes they used old/invalid intel, like what happened with that girls' school that's supposedly close to an IRGC base. Still, it is mostly individual buildings or installations rather than an attempt to flatten entire areas.

amelius: Yes to three-letter agencies.

roysting: What the “government” has in store for you is way scarier. You just doing know it any more than a cow on a pasture knows what a slaughter house is yet.

realo: But in Canada we ...Oh shit. You're right.

sorenjan: Both Russia and Ukraine build millions of drones per year, most of them fpv drones that are basically remote controlled flying grenades. There's plenty of electronic warfare with radio jamming, so in some places they use drone mounted spools of fiber optic cable to control them. It's probably been the most impactful weapon type in the war for the past years.

shrubble: Consumer GPS chips are specifically nerfed for using them in rockets; they give erroneous readings on purpose if altitude is above a certain height and/or if speeds exceed a certain speed. That’s likely why the mid-course correction software uses other methods.

amelius: Watch the video. He makes his own propellant.

relaxing: I’m waiting for the open source EW project that attacks the uplink. Now that would be a fun competition.And then the rocket maker pivot back to control by wire, as in the drone sphere. DIY TOW when?

redgridtactical: Oof

icegreentea2: Yeah, this current project uses external sensors (a camera array/grid) for guidance.He's using potassium nitrate/sugar as his rocket fuel.

tamimio: >FOVFPV.But I really hate the whole weaponization of these FPV drones (as opposed to the bigger fixed wings ones), not just they ruined the fun hobby that a lot enjoy, but also increased the prices for the parts. Before 2022 whenever I talk about drones everyone is enthusiastic about them, what benefits they can bring like drone deliveries and all, after that, you get a hostile reaction or the government put you on some watchlist.

srean: They are using white phosphorus on populated areas in South Lebanon. That's as vile as one can get.

numbsafari: Ask Claude

hrmtst93837: I think the problem sits in the white house, not in the sensors.

phplovesong: What started in Ukraine, this is modern warfare. Like most "consumer" goods that are mass produced, you can now get a capable strike force for peanuts.The russians have taken close to 1.5 million casulties because ukraine engineering for cheap drones. Putin really, really f-ed up his "3 day military operation".

tzury: There are 2 short segments in the video showing the actual performance and thus far it is a complete [1] failure [2].The guy has a talent, and he put together a nice prototype based on OpenRocket [3], but with all due respect, this is not a rocket, and you are not going to win any war with this toy, even if all your enemy has are rocks thrown at you from pretty much similar distance.The remix of computer games / Ukraine / Martin Luther King / Vietnam / David Koresh just adding more to the amateur spirit and confusion.[1] https://youtu.be/DDO2EvXyncE [2] https://youtu.be/DDO2EvXyncE?t=280 [3] https://openrocket.info/

vidarh: They should be sweating, because if the other side can fire 100 rockets for $10k that are close enough to not immediately and obviously be off target, and you don't know whether a more expensive one with actual explosives is hiding within that barrage, you now have 100 targets to try to intercept, and suddenly your costs have gone up dramatically while the other sides costs has barely moved.

victorbjorklund: Evidence for the claim?

srean: https://share.google/aimode/CoVNoZcR3YOotyg5o

bragr: The restrictions on GPS prevent ballistic missiles, not MANPADs. Typical limits are 515 m/s and 18,000 meters (try using your phone's GPS on a commercial flight, it works fine near a window). Update rate is probably the biggest issue with GPS and MANPADs.

the__alchemist: > A few years ago this would have required an IMU that cost more than this entire build.Are you sure about this? MEMS IMUs have been popular and cheap for ~10-15 years.

phplovesong: Its scary that you can whip something like this in under 100 bucks. Add a small warhead and you got a small missile.Like we see in Iran, with trumps idiotic war the US cant even protect its allies and own soldiers, even with a whopping 1.5 trillion budget.

saati: Be that as it may, carpet bombing has a specific meaning, and it's not bombing one's not on board with.

srean: In the context of Iran I agree with you.Not so sure about South Lebanon. From whatever media coverage I saw, some look not that different from carpet bombing.

rancar2: Taking a quick look at the BOM, it lacks the correct sensor selection.

tamimio: And that’s ok if it’s failing to do the job as intended, learning is acquired, and it looks fun to build, I am in the field and I find it great homemade concept.Realistically, I doubt there’s ANY system out there will be able to counter small weaponized drones that are flown manually let alone with AI, you might have some workarounds, but never a real counter.

tzury: "let alone with AI" what's falling into the AI category here perhaps is the key question, since microseconds counts, and LLM are very slow!Even the fastest "real-time" LLM frameworks currently report sub-second latencies around 120ms. This is fine for high-level mission planning (e.g., "fly to the red house") but too slow to prevent a drone from hitting a tree at 50mph (80 KM/h)[1]Whilst the Shahed-136 kamikaze drone typically flies at a maximum speed of around 185 km/h (roughly 115 mph or 100 knots).[1] https://arxiv.org/html/2602.19534v1 [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HESA_Shahed_136

clort: Human Rights Watch claim it, and have analysed photographs put on social mediahttps://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/09/lebanon-israel-unlawfull...(they have also previously documented that Israel has done this in the past)

PowerElectronix: I mean, if we already "trust" nations with that power...

mikkupikku: Yes, I don't think this project is a serious threat as a weapon, it's more interesting if viewed as a politically provocative stunt, to get people thinking about the relationship between technology and war.

niemandhier: My understanding is that for the civilians in Ukraine Shaheed style drones are the danger.

ninjagoo: > "let alone with AI" what's falling into the AI category here perhaps is the key question, since microseconds counts, and LLM are very slow!LLMs (Large Language Models) are far from the only type of AI around. It's a pretty broad field, and there are real-time AI systems, for example, self-driving cars, which have the response times you're thinking of. [1][1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artificial_Intelligence:_A_Mod...

kikkia: Really cool work on making your own rocket motors.I wonder why he calls it a MANPADS (Man portable Air Defense System) It does slightly resemble a Manpads, but with a GPS based guidance system it would not able to be used for air defense, even conceptually. Typically manpads would use something like an infrared/optical or radar guidance system which would run way more than $5. This does seem like a cool home made AGM-176 or similar. There's always been a side project idea in the back of my head about what the cheapest IR or laser guided RC Plane launched rocket would look like. A cheap rocket design powered by some model rocket engines that could be used for a drone -> drone intercept cheaply.Awesome job taking a fun idea into reality. It's really impressive to see the design work

Acquireyet: This is insanely clever—especially using a $5 sensor to adjust the rocket mid-flight. Shows how much you can do now with cheap electronics and open-source software. Curious how reliable the recalculations are under real-world conditions.

lukan: "Realistically, I doubt there’s ANY system out there will be able to counter small weaponized drones that are flown manually "Why would lasers not work?Those cheap drones are made from plastic, if you have a laser powerful enough and a target guidance system (like a camera and a PI) - then you would just need enough of them.

condensedcrab: At long distances the small cross section of the drone requires tight focusing (expensive optics) or a high power, preferably pulsed laser (expensive laser) or both.Not impossible but many times more expensive than the drone

V99: What you are likely thinking of is the "selective availability" system, which intentionally provided slightly inaccurate data to civilian clients, while military receivers could decrypt the most accurate info. But this has not been used for many years now.Other than that, GPS is a one-way system, it does not know you exist, how fast your receiver is moving or "give" different information to one client vs another.Even if it did, this is essentially a toy and moving slower and lower than a general aviation plane.It uses accelerometers and other sensors because they can be sampled and integrated hundreds of times a second. The $5 gps module is 9600 baud serial and provides one update/second (or maybe 5/sec depending on which part number you pick).

daymanstep: I'm surprised nobody else has pointed this out. The entire YouTube video has only two short clips of the actual rocket being fired, and in both cases the clips are very short and only show the rocket being fired and then following an erratic flight path, and then get cut before showing the rocket hitting anything.For all the technical info given in the video, there is a curious lack of any data regarding the actual accuracy of the system. What percentage of rockets tested managed to hit anything and at what range?