Russia develops drone with a shotgun to shoot down other drones

The Russians have developed a drone with a shotgun mounted on its frame designed to shoot down other drones. The drone appears to have begun development in 2016 by a group of students at Moscow Aviation Institute.

Development of the drone

One big problem with mounting shotguns on drones is that the recoil can have disastrous effects on the drone's operation making the drone an impractical weapons platform. However, the students seem to have been able to develop stabilizing mechanisms to offset the recoil and improve the accuracy of the weapon.

Almaz-Antey a Russian arms manufacturer now has a patent for the design and created the prototype of the drone.

The drone characteristics

An endgadget article describes the drone: "No, this isn't an April Fool's joke: A Russian defense contractor has patented a drone that uses a shotgun to blast other drones out of the sky. It comes from Almaz Antey, a Russian defense contractor that manufactures the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile that caused a rift between Turkey and the US. The tail-sitting drone takes off on the spot but flies like an airplane for greater efficiency, giving it a 40-minute range while packing a fully-automatic Vepr-12 shotgun with a 10-round magazine."

Drone counter defenses

Militaries around the world are already using drones in war to attack terrorists, or drop explosives on enemy forces or for surveillance purposes. They can even be used for propaganda purposes showing the results of attacks. This has resulted in a search for counter-defenses and a market for any defenses developed. The Center for the Study of the Drone at Bard College found that there were at least 235 counter drone defenses already on the market or being developed.

The most common defenses are jamming mechanisms. Other methods considered are more exotic such as microwave cannon, nets, and even birds of prey. The shotgun drones seem a direct way to counter the threat. Also, it does not require specialized launch facilities or equipment and could hunt down enemy drones quickly at least theoretically.

Sam Bendett of CNA a defense research and analysis organization says that the development of the system appears to be a result of Russia's concern with the use of drones by rebels in Syria. He says that Russia has used many types of electronic systems to counter the drones including stationary, portable, and mobile devices to counter the drones. The shot gun drone will just be one more weapon in their growing arsenal of counter drone weapons.

Previously published in the Digital Journal