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The dominance of small-sized drones on the battlefield requires the development of means to counter them.
- says the German edition of Hartpunkt.
The U.S. Marine Command has invited companies to provide solutions to protect infantry from small drones. The means of combating UAVs should be user-friendly, easy to learn, lightweight and maximally compatible with systems that are already in service.
- it is noted in the publication, listing several solutions that fit into this framework.
As indicated, first of all, it is necessary to equip the infantry with small electronic jamming devices that individual soldiers can use.
Secondly, UAVs can be hit with advanced sights mounted on standard weapons. For example, the United States, Britain and Germany have purchased Israeli SMASH optronics. It can be mounted on a standard Picatinny rail and combines an optical sight with computer software for target tracking and fire control and the ability to work day and night. At the same time, it can be used as a conventional collimator sight.
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SMASH Sights
SMASH allows the user to select and mark a target. The scope then tracks the target, performs the necessary ballistic calculations, including predicting its movement, and aims the weapon. When the target is fixed and the fighter pulls the trigger, the electronics block it and do not allow the shot to be fired until the ACS considers that the weapon is aimed with a sufficiently high probability of hitting.
According to the developer, SMASH 3000 provides an 80% chance of hitting a moving target with the first shot from a distance of 100 m, regardless of the user's level of training. According to the author, the disadvantages of this type of equipment are the high cost of the visor, the requirement for recharging, additional weight and volume, as well as the need for advanced training.
In the zone of the Ukrainian conflict, a shotgun has become widespread, but its disadvantages are the limited capacity of the magazine (mainly 5-8 rounds) and the short effective range (about 100 m, and when shooting buckshot – about 30 m) compared with machine guns and machine guns. The advantage is the versatility of the shotgun, which is a powerful melee weapon.
As indicated, compared with conventional live ammunition, poultry cartridges, which contain a large number of smaller pellets, have significantly greater potential. Recently, both in the West and in Russia, cartridges specially designed to combat drones have begun to appear (for example, "Interception" from the company "Techkrim"). Some of them do not shoot with shot, but with a weighted mesh (mainly made of cut-resistant aramid), which gets entangled in the drone's blades.
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Anti-drone cartridge "Interception"
According to the author, in order to quickly increase the number of weapons at the front capable of shooting shot, several solutions have appeared in the form of adapters, especially in Russia. So, the Dronoboy muzzle nozzle was proposed for standard AK-47/74 submachine guns. The reusable device looks like a silencer and can be equipped with a plastic container with pellets. When fired from a machine gun, the gas pressure pushes the bullets out of the nozzle.
As noted in the press, the main disadvantage of both shot and nets is the limited effective range, usually estimated from 30 to 50 m, depending on the type of ammunition and the user's capabilities.
The Singapore-based company ST Engineering proposed using 40x46 mm ammunition from under-barrel or automatic grenade launchers equipped with a programming device (WPU) similar to a smartwatch. The grenade has a delayed-action fuse and is equipped with an anti-drone net. As stated, the maximum range is 300 m. The disadvantage is the increased load, the high cost of programmable ammunition and the low initial velocity of the grenade (at 85 m /s), which will require the fighter to predict the trajectory of the UAV.
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Muzzle nozzle "Dronoboy"
The Bulgarian company BULARMAS has developed a 14.5 x 114 mm Ratnik cartridge designed for use in KPV-type machine guns and, in fact, is an explosive cartridge with a delayed-action fuse. It contains spherical submunitions and a small explosive charge. The detonator is set to fire at an altitude of 1200 m, 1400 m, 1600 m or 1800 m. The concept is based on mixing cartridges with different delays in one ammunition package to increase the spread of fragments and, consequently, the probability of hitting the target. A larger version of the 23x152 mm caliber was also developed.
For his part, the author suggests returning to a solution that dates back several centuries - "duplex" or "triplex" cartridges for standard rifle calibers. They can use two or three charges placed sequentially in one sleeve, so that several bullets fly out with each shot.
