How KP police are countering drone attacks with Ukraine-style nets

How KP police are countering drone attacks with Ukraine-style nets.

Key points

• Header image: This photograph taken on Aug 4, 2026 demonstrates security personnel fortifying a police post with Ukraine-style mesh barriers, at Bara in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. – AFP.
• Last month, KP police's Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Division held the force's first-ever drone course, with 52 participants.
• Regarding 30 per cent of police stations still lack their own devices, a senior officer in Peshawar informed AFP.
• Draped over the facade of a number of police premises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
• KP is experiencing a surge in terrorist attacks by the banned Tehreek-I-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), with dozens of police authorities martyred in attacks on checkpoints this year.

Resembling fishing nets, the mesh can scupper attacks by entangling enemy drones or by catching munitions, like mortars or grenades, high above the compounds. AFP Published September 9, 2026 Updated September 9, 2026 11: 49am.

White nets stretch high throughout the front of brick buildings in Pakistan's northern border region, a tactic borrowed from the Ukrainian battlefield to protect police against the latest terrorist threat – drones.

Resembling fishing nets, the mesh lacks the sophistication of other military hardware.

Their employ indicates how lessons from the war in Ukraine are reverberating on distant fronts such as Pakistan, where security forces are improvising new defences against terrorists armed with the cheap, easily obtainable devices.

"These drones are easily available in markets, and with a bit of modification a kit for dropping shells can be installed. So it is quite straightforward and everyone has access to them, " Khyber District Police Officer Waqar Ahmad informed AFP.

"We have started installing these. Nets to protect our personnel from aerial attacks and to reduce the risk of attacks involving drones."

Created from extra-durable thread, the bespoke, reinforced nets can scupper attacks by entangling enemy drones or by catching munitions, like mortars or grenades, high above the compounds so that they cause less damage if they explode.

They are suspended a number of metres above the ground, between the top of the front of buildings and roadside concrete walls, forming a protective canopy.

In some frontline Ukrainian cities, nets are hung high and wide throughout long stretches of road, forming corridors like spiders' webs to thwart aerial attacks.

Draped over the facade of a number of police premises in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It borders Afghanistan, the nets are a new line of defence alongside concrete blocks and other barriers.

Police are playing catch-up against the group. It has deployed drones extensively in attacks since 2024.

Drones are readily available at specialised electronics shops throughout the province, with AFP finding them in around a dozen such stores in shopping malls in Peshawar alone.

They have become a vital part of the TTP's attack toolkit, applied not only to strike targets but additionally for surveillance.

Another senior officer from KP remarked the terrorists apply drones to monitor "every movement" of their operations, "which creates serious difficulties for us in countering them".

Police are additionally racing to harness the technology, putting on training courses and stocking up on the machines and counter-drone devices such as handheld jammers.

For Muhammad Aamir, a policeman posted at a checkpoint along a road in the province, the nets, alongside boundary walls, have "considerably" reduced the risk of drone attacks and hand grenades being lobbed at the building.

"These incidents caused significant damage and casualties among the police and other security forces. Nevertheless, the situation has improved now, " the 38-year-old informed AFP.

But with attacks continuing to claim lives, locals say police need to do more to protect them.

"We want some peace and security in this area. Either the police post should be removed from this location, or the authorities should eliminate the threat posed by the Taliban (TTP) from this area, " remarked 48-year old corn seller Gul Haleem.

Situationer: From jammers to drones – KP's fight against terrorists 'takes flight'. SITUATIONER: 'Double-tap' terrorist attacks expose tactical gap in LEAs' training. 'Drone swarms' test KP police limits. Dawn NewsKit Publishing Platform.

Taken together, the developments around how KP police are countering drone attacks with Ukraine point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.