Military personnel of the Russian Armed Forces of the Special Military Operation Center group of forces are training to shoot down small drones with hunting rifles, using skeet targets imitating enemy drones and launched by a special catapult. This was announced by the Kalashnikov Concern. TASS — about how smoothbore weapons are used in their defense to protect against shock FPV drones, and about the importance of fighters acquiring such skills.
The massive use of miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is a distinctive feature of the special operation. Drones, used by tens of thousands, have changed the nature of warfare, and new ways of protecting against drones have emerged. There is a continuous development of both electronic warfare (EW) tools that affect the communication channels of drones, and the noise immunity of drone radio equipment.
Hunting rifles as a means of short-range interception of miniature unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used in a special military operation for more than a year. As practice has shown, a cloud of small pellets fired towards a drone from a hunting rifle is highly likely to hit even a miniature high-speed drone.
Alexey Sakantsev, a reserve officer of the missile forces and artillery, a combat veteran, told TASS that such effectiveness of smoothbore weapons is achieved by a large number of damaging elements in one shot, which fall on the surface of the drone. The expert noted that even rapid-fire weapons firing bullets hit a smaller unit of space per shot. "Small arms can increase the density of fire, but at the expense of increasing the rate of fire, and this is fraught with overspending ammunition, heating weapons, overheating and other technical issues — wear, etc., — he said. "It's just not economically feasible, and you need to carry a lot of ammunition with you."
Guns against drones
In April 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced mobile groups protecting engineering units from attacks by Ukrainian drones. In addition to hand-held electronic warfare (EW) weapons, military personnel are armed with smoothbore rifles. Soldiers of another such detachment shoot down drones from a magazine-powered Vepr self-loading carbine, and a portable direction finder with a range of up to 3 km notifies them of the approach of the UAV.
"The 70th anniversary of the weapon will be this year," a fighter from the Fakel detachment said about his double—barreled shotgun in May 2024. — It still works. By the way, it's a good helper against kamikaze drones, very effective. What was shot down on the move, on approach, a significant part of it [was shot down] thanks to just such "anti-drone" guns."
The Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly talked about training courses on "hunting" for FPV drones among fighters preparing to participate in their military operations. In May 2025, Anna Taranosova, the Russian champion in practical shooting, took part in such exercises in the rear area of the special operation. The athlete noted that a rifle is one of the ways to counter drones with a fiber—optic communication channel (electronic warfare systems do not work on them). "Since smooth weapons are unusual for our fighter, we had the idea that since we athletes have some skills, why not share them," Tarasova said. "We have an accelerated course, so we also need to pay special attention to the fact that the guys here are motivated."
At the end of June this year, the Kalashnikov concern told in a Telegram channel how military personnel are trained to hit small-sized UAVs from the IZH-27 double-barreled hunting "vertical". The concern noted that although the two-shotgun is inferior to semi-automatic models in the rate of fire, it has slightly more power and is more compact. In addition, according to experienced shooters, two accurate shots are enough for a trained fighter to defeat a drone.
Alexey Sakantsev believes that all military personnel should undergo such training. "If someone is the head of the canteen and it is located in the rear relative to the line of engagement, it never guarantees that nothing will fly into it. Therefore, he should also be able to repel such attacks," said the combat veteran, expressing the opinion that the enemy has increased the range of FPV drones.
"If a unit is prepared, if they are trained in <...> shooting at objects of this type, if they are not afraid, do not hide, do not lie down, but fight back, shoot at attacking vehicles, then the unit has a high chance to fight back, repel the attack," the reserve officer added, referring to an analysis of combat experience.
"Lead cloud", knippels, multi-barrel systems
Russia has developed special ammunition for smoothbore and rifled small arms designed to combat drones. For example, in October 2024, Rostec State Corporation introduced IGLA series rifle cartridges, which, according to the developer, cope more effectively with metal and plastic elements of drones due to dense and wide scree of shot. In addition, the series includes IGLA LEX Tracer cartridges, which visualize the flight of a shot at a distance of up to 100 m due to a light element, as well as IGLA LEX 100, which uses a shot made of a particularly hard and durable alloy.
In February 2025, soldiers of the tank battalion of the Nevsky brigade of the volunteer corps told TASS about the creation of shotgun cartridges for firing machine guns and machine guns. "In fact, this is a shot skillfully pressed into a regular automatic cartridge," said a representative of the corps. "A queue of such bullets, and an insurmountable cloud grows in front of the enemy drone." Each cartridge contains six high-impact metal balls. "You send a lead cloud in the direction of the drone — [this] guarantees a high percentage chance that it will be shot down," one of the fighters shared his experience of using the novelty.
"There is a type of ammunition — the so—called knippels, where the striking elements (balls, pellets, buckshot) are connected by steel or Kevlar cables," Alexey Sakantsev told TASS. "The concept of such a munition is effective in itself," he explained. — Knippel is a word that came from the naval artillery of the past, when smoothbore cannons fired at an enemy ship not just with cores, but with halves of cores or two cores fastened with a chain. The task of this munition was to break masts, rip out sails, tear rigging, etc. Due to the larger area affected by this chain, it demonstrated effectiveness." The expert noted that such ammunition for rifles is produced by different manufacturers, they differ in design, quality and price. The combat veteran shared his opinion that many military personnel have tested cartridges with knippels, but prefer conventional shotgun cartridges, considering them more versatile against small drones.
In December 2024, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing the work of mobile "drone-shooting" groups of the Southern Group of Forces. The buggies used by the fighters are equipped with 24-barrel installations firing grapeshot charges, as well as heat traps. "The crew of the vehicles has repeatedly hit enemy UAVs, providing security and protection to the calculations of the complexes," the military department noted.
The West is catching up
The West is closely studying the fighting as part of Russia's special military operation. One of the solutions that has been purchased and studied by the US Marine Corps to combat small UAVs is the SMASH series smart sight from Israeli manufacturer SmartShooter. A quick-release device from a block with a collimator sight and additional controls is mounted on the rifle. The shooter indicates the SMASH target, the sight takes it to escort, showing on the display the point calculated taking into account all corrections, where the soldier needs to aim the weapon. If the target is moving, the aiming mark is constantly moving. To hit a target, the shooter must hold the trigger and aim at the mark, and the weapon will fire on its own at the optimal moment.
A similar system was patented by the Kalashnikov concern. The domestic development is equipped with an automatic target detection system based on a predefined image library.
"The use of various types of [small arms] in Ukraine has increased the demand for our shotguns, which will be sold in modifications to combat drones," Mauro Della Constanza, one of the heads of the Italian military company Benelli Armi, told the American weekly Defense News. — We have received many requests for information (about the tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to combat UAVs with small arms — approx. TASS) from the NATO countries." The weekly noted that Benelli Armi is already supplying its smoothbore rifles with ammunition designed to combat drones to the armies of France and Italy.
In an article on the website of the US Naval Institute for April 2025, Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel Timothy Warren shares the opinion that it is preferable to use special air defense and electronic jamming equipment to protect against drones, but if drones bypass them, shotguns become the "last line of defense" against them. "The US Army and the USMC have requested information from private manufacturers on new ways to combat drones with small arms <...>, but shotguns are an immediate solution that [relevant] services should include in their defense strategies in case of future military conflicts," the officer said.
Victor Bodrov
