Some of China’s 11,000 mega bridges could be at risk from small drones: study

Scientists in China have simulated a drone attack on one of the country’s major suspension bridges to determine the vulnerability of key transport hubs to modern warfare tactics.

The researchers found that a drone carrying just 30kg (66lb) of TNT could trigger a bridge collapse if it detonated within inches of the main suspension cable at the point where it meets a support tower.

The targeted bridge strikes that have featured in Russia’s war on Ukraine showed that warfare has shifted from mass firepower to precision strikes, turning once hard-to-reach structures into prime targets, they said.

“These events starkly reveal the extreme vulnerability of modern bridges to unconventional explosive attacks,” the team wrote in a paper published in the September issue of the Chinese-language Journal of Railway Science and Engineering.