#Drones

Photo Of The Day: You know we’re always on the lookout for the best photographers and firearms-related images. The goal is to give your eyes something worth watching every day, and today we have a combination of Royal Navy Commandos and their swarm of drones.

A friend of mine, Sean S. clued me into Skydio back in the fall of 2020. I met up with Charlie of Skydio back then and he showed me a new drone they were submitting to the military. It is now called the X2D and they were at SHOT Show Range Day.

The US Army has announced the selection of a raft of anti-drone systems to combat the threat of small drones which are proliferating on battlefields around the world. The new Counter-Small Unmanned Aircraft System (C-sUAS) capabilities range from fixed systems to optics for small arms.

The Firearm Blog are pleased to announce our new sister site dedicated to covering the latest military and defense technology news. If you’re interested in larger caliber guns, missiles, military aviation, naval news, armed and unarmed drones, the latest in ground vehicles and the application of special operations forces then Overt Defense has you covered!

In late October men of the 1st Squadron, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, currently deployed to Iraq, trained with the Drone Defender, an anti-drone device. The Drone Defender is made by Battelle, pictured is an earlier version of the system, the Drone Defender V2 – a newer, more compact variant is now available.

I found this in a Facebook group. It seems that the Taiwan 205th Armory (the same people who make the T91 rifle) is experimenting with arming drones. The T91 drone is equipped with a T91 rifle while the other is a 40mm armed drone with three grenade launchers.

Numerous media outlets have recently reported that Queensland police used a DroneShield Drone Gun to take down a errant drone that flew close to a Commonwealth Games venue. In reality it seems the drone was landed by its pilot.

At the 2017 Association of the United States Army annual meeting, Korean optics maker DI Optical was showing off many of their familiar products, but also had on display an interesting looking rifle attachment from a company called Jammer Korea. The attachment, named the “DRONE SNIPER”, is a familiar multi-frequency radio jammer, but in a slick underbarrel package that weighs much less than current standalone launchers.

It’s no secret that the field of war is changing, and that fact is just as true for the infantryman as it is the F-35 Lightning II pilot. Increasingly, small, inexpensive, expendable drones are being used as intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) assets, as well as delivery platforms for light ordnance as well as kamikaze weapons. Today, the use of drones in this manner is in its infancy, but the next generation of purpose-built light combat drones is being designed and built right now. Israeli firms like Duke Robotics and UVision have already created armed and kamikaze (respectively) drone systems, and combatants in the Iraqi and Syrian Civil Wars famously used drones as delivery platforms for 40mm grenades. The use of civilian light drones as “snooping” devices has already spurred the development of anti-drone weapons for security forces, including both electromagnetic “rifles” that zap drones to take control of them, as well as more crude (but still effective) anti-drone shotgun payloads.

Originating from Russian Ministry of Defense counter-UAV trials, the most recent version of the LOKMAS (the com[any that produces it) “Stupor” Counter-UAV device was on display at ARMY 2017. Hrachya wrote about the prototypes of this device back in April of this year. It has an effective range of 650 meters, and a somewhat less reliable range of 650 to 850 meters and can run 4 hours and 40 minutes while being charged with either a 12 Volt or 220 Volt connection. It can suppress both GPS (L1, L2, L3) and Wi-Fi signals (2.4 GHz, 5.8 GH). Currently, the drone is undergoing military tests and evaluations, of which a recent article was written about here. Apparently, the outcome of the tests was that it was favorable, but we don’t know if the device is going to be adopted as of yet.

Defense Blog has published evidence that Iraqi security forces are using a counter drone gun to aid in the fight against the so-called Islamic State’s many hobby drones that are either acting as forward observers for the terrorist group or weaponized themselves by dropping grenades upon unsuspecting Iraqi forces from the air. Every month since the attack on Mosul began we’ve seen these drone attacks skyrocket compared to what they were previously.

One of the latest developments in small arms are anti-drone guns. With the increasing adoption and use of unmanned vehicles, the need for a portable handheld weapon system capable of destroying them becomes more and more important. I won’t be surprised if we see world’s major armies adopting such weapons in near future (at squad or platoon level).

As a part of a force and installation protection program, the United States Airforce (USAF) has ordered 600 “Anti-Drone Rounds” from AMTAC Less Lethal. The initial batch will be used to test the ammunition’s usefulness in law enforcement operations against Type 1 and 2 drones (max 55 pounds and 3500 feet flying altitude). The contract calls for an additional order of 6400 shells if the initial testing phase proves to be beneficial.

Yes you read that right. Iraqi soldiers are using a tactic from ISIS. They apparently have been using shuttlecocks on grenades. The shuttlecocks add stability to the grenades and improving their accuracy.

Drones are a huge boon to the filmmaking world. Coupled with high-quality small cameras, drones can and do capture breathtaking footage of the world’s modern-day events. I would say there has not been a writer’s event that I have been to where there has not been a drone. The steady hum reassures us that all is being captured from above.