Special Ammunition Lets Soldiers Shoot Down Drones Using Everyday Rifles

Modern battlefields have a serious problem on their hands, as drones are making life a nightmare for ground forces worldwide. These small, troublesome machines fly in low and fast, often carrying explosives or cameras, and soldiers try to bring them down with anything they can get their hands on. The problem is that most of the time, a single bullet simply misses the mark because the targets zigzag all over the place, leaving little profile to aim at.

Drone Round Defense has provided a solution to this issue. Their rounds are a simple drop-in replacement for regular 5.56 & 45mm and 7.62 & 51mm NATO calibre rifles, with no need to swap parts or install extra gear. Troops can just load the same magazines or belts and shoot as usual.

Each round they produce differs from a typical bullet in one significant way: instead of a single projectile, it contains a cluster of tiny sub-projectiles. When fired, the outer case opens in flight, releasing the projectiles into a tight, controlled spread. The goal is to maximize the likelihood of hitting fast-moving drones while avoiding the vast, uncontrolled dispersal associated with previous scatter-style rounds. The velocity is astounding, at 2,200 feet per second, about double that of a conventional 12-gauge shotgun shell, but maintaining the speed and precision more commonly associated with rifles.

There are two variations, each suited for a different distance. The K model fires eight bullets and should be effective for 50 meters, but the L variant fires five projectiles and can travel 100 meters before losing steam. Both of them perform flawlessly in full-auto mode and have no trouble passing through suppressors. The best thing is that soldiers may quickly swap between these rounds and normal ammo, depending on the situation.

Oddly enough, the inspiration for these rounds came from varmint hunting loads, as the older versions broke apart to strike small, swift creatures. Drone Round Defense simply developed the notion for a military scenario, with everything constructed in the United States and production lines capable of producing hundreds of millions of rounds each year. The leadership has some real ammo-making experience, so you can be confident that the quality will be high, as troops expect from regular deliveries.

They’ve already conducted several live-fire tests, and they function really well. Members of the Eighteenth Airborne Corps Signal Detachment practiced at Oak Grove Training Center in North Carolina. They were able to take out an FPV-style drone with the first shot in one exercise. The tests were part of a larger attempt to provide tiny units with basic tools for combating aerial threats that radio jammers alone cannot manage.

Of course, radio jammers cannot affect fiber-optic guided drones. Kinetic rounds, on the other hand, are fundamentally different in that they rely on good old-fashioned physical touch to accomplish their task. This implies that infantry units now have a far wider range of options: something that is significantly less expensive than missiles or dedicated drone interceptors while still fitting into the same pouches they already carry. Commanders like to provide these countermeasures to all riflemen without adding any weight or complexity to their carry.
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