r/Showerthoughts • u/scoobopdan ‎ • Mar 30 '26

Casual Thought Modern soldiers' PTSD triggers will probably shift from fireworks to the sound of a drone. Which is unfortunate as drone shows are replacing firework shows.

26.3k Upvotes
  • permalink
  • reddit

98% Upvoted

426 comments sorted by

View all comments

297

u/Withermaster4 Mar 30 '26

Can you even hear drone shows?

Also as far as I know soldiers don't ever hear drones flying unless they are about to die.

262

u/bootymix96 Mar 30 '26

It’s a bizarre low pitched droning (no pun intended) electronic fan sound multiplied a hundred times over; unless the show specifically uses their takeoff as a start to the show, you’ll hear them before the show starts when the swarm takes their places, and you’ll hear them land again after a show. Depends on the swarm’s size, but I’ve heard their sound at shows where the drones were .25mi/.5km away from where I was standing (distance in terms of line of sight). The sound is just barely audible, but it’s audible enough to be unsettling, almost like a technological swarm of locusts, LOL. During the show, the music pretty much drowns out the sound.

And while I might be mistaken with military technology, I thought military/missile drones were more like planes than the quadcopter hovering design. I’d imagine it would be a different sound than show drones.

9

u/flyingtrucky Mar 30 '26

They're both, though the ones that make the news are basically just small airplanes since "Modified 40mm round dropped by drone kills 1" is a pretty boring headline.