this post was submitted on 18 Mar 2026
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Tech hobbyist makes shoulder-mounted guided missile prototype with $96 in parts and a 3D printer — DIY MANPADS includes Wi-Fi guidance, ballistics calculations, optional camera for tracking (www.tomshardware.com)
submitted 4 hours ago by fossilesque@mander.xyz to c/technology@lemmy.world
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[–] frongt@lemmy.zip 11 points 3 hours ago (2 children)

Neat. I wonder if there is anything you can use as a warhead without it becoming a destructive device. Chalk rounds?

I'm also curious to know the rocket velocity compared to actual MANPADS. I'll have to watch the videos later because I'm also curious about whether they're independent or require the launching laptop to stay connected.

[–] Samskara@sh.itjust.works 11 points 3 hours ago

Velocity and range are also my main questions, as well as tracking quality and speed. The video doesn’t demonstrate it hitting a flying target.

Common MANPADS like Stinger, Strela, etc. use infrared tracking. The seekers are high performance and fast but need complex supercooling with gas. Using a MANPADS you only have seconds, to arm, aim and track, then fire the missile against a fast moving target before it‘s out of range. These can hit low flying supersonic jets.

Still this project is very impressive and hints at the possibility to build cheap low end MANPADS that can target slow moving strike and observation drones, maybe helicopters.

It’s another indicator, that mass produced cheap precision weapons are a major trend in warfare.

[–] Truscape@lemmy.blahaj.zone 6 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Potentially could be used for things like spreading flame-retardent powder for putting out a wildfire or similar with more precision. Would also remove the risk of a human life in firefighting so areas might be cleared quicker.