June 20, 2026
Old phones vs flying lawnmowers
Lithuanian startup launches open-source network to detect Shahed-type drones
Turn an old phone into a drone snitch? The internet is split between genius and glitch
TLDR: Lithuania’s new open-source system wants volunteers to use spare phones to help detect Shahed-type drones by listening for their engine noise. Commenters are torn between calling it clever civic defense and questioning whether it can handle fake reports, higher-flying drones, and whether a phone is really the best tool for the job.
A Lithuanian startup has launched what sounds like a real-life citizen spy network: people plug in an old Android phone, leave it by a window, and let it listen for the telltale rumble of Shahed-style attack drones. If several phones hear the same sound, the system tries to figure out where the drone is and shows it on a public map via Dronuradaras.lt. The pitch is simple: use devices people already have to build an extra layer of warning, with privacy promises front and center.
But the comments? Absolutely not calm. One camp instantly went full reality check, with people pointing out that giant defense contractors are already doing similar work with expensive hardware in space, basically asking: is this scrappy phone project heroic innovation or a budget remix? Others zeroed in on the big fear—what if bad actors flood it with fake reports? That sparked the classic internet trust debate: crowdsourcing can be brilliant, until trolls show up.
Then came the armchair engineers, and honestly, they stole the show. One commenter suggested ditching old phones for tiny custom devices aimed at the sky. Another delivered the thread’s most memorable image, saying these drones should sound like an “angry lawnmower” in the lower sound range. Even the skeptics weren’t fully dismissive; they were more like, cool idea, but can it still hear drones when they fly higher and quieter? So the vibe is part hope, part panic, part garage-inventor energy—and very, very online.
Key Points
- •Mainline and activists launched an open-source system called Drone Radar to detect Shahed-type drones using data from volunteers’ phones.
- •Verified volunteers use unused Android smartphones running an app that listens for low-frequency engine sound signatures near windows.
- •If multiple nearby devices detect the same suspicious sound, the system analyzes the acoustic data to estimate the object’s possible location.
- •The initiative includes a public monitoring platform with an interactive map and a dedicated sensor app, supported by a team of 20 specialists and partner organizations.
- •Organizers aim to recruit 10,000 active users, expand across the Baltic states and Poland, and later add surveillance camera audio and possibly telecom tower-based sensors.