Kalashnikov
Espingarda de assalto AK-12 Kalashnikov Izhmash
Russia is investing heavily in the anti-drone ammunition market, with a new 5.45 mm ammunition for rifles. The Kalashnikov group announced that it intends to mass produce bullets that fragment to shoot down drones.
Russia’s leading small arms manufacturer, the group Kalashnikovannounced on Thursday that it is developing 5.45 mm caliber ammunition designed specifically for neutralize drones.
Although similar types of ammunition have appeared sporadically on the battlefield over the past year, the company says it intends to move toward mass production of these projectiles, formalizing a national effort to equip the military with anti-drone ammunition for individual use.
The weapons manufacturer explained that the 30 ammunition magazine was designed for the AK-12 assault riflewhich runs on gas, and each bullet releases a “multi-element projectile which significantly increases the probability of hitting UAV.”
According to the manufacturer, this ammunition can be used both in burst and single shothaving been tested against a drone suspended in the air and another flying along a predefined trajectory.
Ukraine has also been developing your own anti-drone munitions for shotgun, including a bullet called “Horoshok”, or “Little Pea”, which is fragments into multiple parts to widen impact area. In December, Kyiv announced that it intends to produce 400,000 of these munitions per month.
The Ukrainian 5.56 mm ammunition, however, causes the projectile to travel a certain distance before fragmenting, thus extending the range effectiveness of the shot, note the .
In the announcement, Kalashnikov stated that during tests against small, fast drones, fragments from its bullets “separated systematically at the exit of the pipe”.
It is believed that some Russian units were the first to publicly use the new concept, as happened with a group of soldiers who, in February 2025, filmed using steel balls and heat shrink sleeves to convert 7.62mm ammunition into improvised projectiles similar to shotgun shells.
This whole concept refers to the Today’s widespread use of shotguns in the war in Ukraine as last line of defense against FPV drone attacks.
The tactic gained particular popularity when both sides began using drones with fiber optics, which cannot be remotely blocked by electronic interference.
Also in the West anti-drone rifle ammunition is being tested.
The United States Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, for example, announced in February that it is developing a “drone killer cartridge” with bullets that split into three fragments.
Some North American and European startups are also marketing their own versions of cluster rifle ammunition.
At the same time, the concept is attracting interest from the large defense industry. THE Belgian subsidiary of Thalesa group based in France, has been developing a 70mm airburst rocketloaded with steel balls, to counter unidirectional attack drones such as Russia’s Shahed.
