MILAN — The Lithuanian Army has tested heavy machine guns and Swedish-designed surface-to-air missiles against high-speed drones, as more militaries are exploring the potential of firearms as drone countermeasures of last resort.
In a video released this week by the Lithuanian armed forces, air defense artillery units are seen training with large-caliber machine guns and launching the Saab-made RBS 70 NG missiles against target drones.
Armored vehicles equipped with machine guns can also be observed in the footage, which was filmed at a training range located less than ten kilometers away from the Belarus border.
“Testing of weapon systems (heavy machine guns, RBS, FPV drones) against drones at the General Silvestras Žukauskas training ground – some work the first time, some don’t. But that’s why we test and weapon crews train to attack this type of target,” the Lietuvos kariuomenė, the country’s armed forces, said in a post on their social media platform.
This drill comes only a few weeks after the Baltic country adopted a new law that grants the military the authority to shoot down hostile drones, allowing it to react faster in the event of airspace violations.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said on the evening of Oct. 23 that Russian military planes briefly violated Lithuania’s airspace in what he called “a blatant breach of international law and territorial integrity.”
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The use of light weapons such as shotguns against drones in Ukraine has gained a lot of attention in recent months, grabbing the curiosity of some Western militaries as well.
One of Ukraine’s latest drone countermeasures involves a new ammunition round for rifles that simultaneously fires five moving projectiles in a cloud-shaped pattern to hit incoming targets. Introduced over the summer, Ukraine’s government-backed defense technology cluster, Brave1, reports that it can effectively hit drones at distances of up to 50 meters.
It was designed so that infantry soldiers would not need to carry two different weapons; instead, they could rapidly substitute magazines depending on whether they are engaging an enemy drone or personnel.
Another military organization evaluating shotguns to safeguard against drones is the British Army’s Experimentation and Trials Group, which is responsible for testing activities across the service.
A recent report published by the Center for European Policy Analysis argues that guns paired with interceptor drones, rather than missiles, will be the cheap answer that militaries are looking for to defeat swarms of low-cost drones.
“What happens if Russia becomes capable of sending 1,000, 2,000, or even 4,000 drones in one night? These figures are achievable with modern production methods, and Ukraine would run out of missiles very quickly,” the report notes.
It proposes that the alternative will be “modern-day flak, married with interceptor drones,” pointing out that systems such as the German Gepard Flakpanzer can carry 640 rounds, or that the Rheinmetall Skyranger 35 can hold 220 rounds in a single turret and quickly re-target.
Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo is a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.
