Russian medieval reenactor takes out drone with spear throw

LIPETSK, Russia, May 12 (UPI) -- A Russian medieval festival reenactor showed off his spear-throwing skills by knocking a camera drone out of the sky with his weapon.

Footage posted to YouTube by drone owner Gennady Tolcheev shows an aerial view of the Rusborg medieval festival in the Lipetsk region as reenactors are preparing to recreate the "battle for the bridge."

A costumed participant can be seen moving away from his comrades before throwing his spear, which scores a direct hit and knocks the drone out of the air.

"The lance was not a fighting weapon, it had a softened tip," a festival organizer told the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper. "Therefore the quadcopter was not destroyed, it just dropped to the ground."

Social media users criticized the drone's presence at the event, which even bans participants from wearing modern underwear, but Tolcheev said organizers gave permission for the quadcopter to film.

Tolcheev said the man who threw the spear apologized and offered to pay for repairs to the damaged device.

The drone owner said he has spoken to organizers about the possibility of making drone spearing an official event next year, with the aerial devices standing in for "dragons."