Ukraine's drone strategy: Innovation in gun‑mounted warfare
Ukrainians are constantly looking for cost-effective and reusable methods to combat Russian soldiers using drones. Although it still needs refinement, one of the most intriguing ideas is mounting firearms on drones. Here's a look at how this might be implemented.
Ukrainians are extensively utilizing drones not only to target Russian vehicles but also individual soldiers. It is worth noting, however, that in recent months, China has reduced the supply of components critical for drone production, resulting in noticeable challenges in providing a sufficient number of drones.
These drones cost about $1,000 each or less, and there is an ongoing need to acquire effective weaponry. To this end, Ukrainians primarily rely on outdated munitions such as bomblets from incompatible cluster munitions several decades old, hand grenades, or rifle grenades like Polish PGN-y. However, this is insufficient, and occasionally, Western cluster munitions are dismantled.
At the same time, efforts are underway to adapt drones to carry rifles, as this would allow engaging the enemy for a minimal cost and provide reusable weapons. For instance, the cost of a single 5.56x45 mm NATO round on the civilian market is currently about $0.50. Below, you can see one of the many recent videos of a drone armed with an AK-74 rifle conducting a low flight over Russian trenches along a tree line.
Drones with rifles — when a science fiction vision becomes reality
Theoretically, it's possible because FPV drones capable of carrying a lightened PG-7VL grenade weighing about 2 kilograms can also carry an AK rifle, especially if it's stripped of non-essential components such as the stock, handguard, or pistol grip. This reduces the rifle's weight from nearly 3 kilograms to about 2 kilograms.
A rifle attached to a drone, even using zip ties, can be effective as a suppressive fire weapon for, say, an assault group. It can function as a drone version of direct air support. In such a scenario, Russians are less likely to emerge from hiding, easing the tasks for the assault team.
In this mode of operation, precision is not a major focus because the rifle would have to be mounted in a two-axis stabilized mount with a system for absorbing recoil energy. Additionally, the drone would require an advanced system based on artificial intelligence algorithms for target tracking and the capability to measure the distance to the target and adjust the gun angle for the ballistic computer.
Only with such a setup could there be reasonable accuracy when shooting at detected targets. In field conditions, this might not be feasible, but for a design developed from scratch, it already is.
