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Ukraine’s Frontline Innovation Goes Global: US Trials 5.56 Anti-Drone Bullet for Rifle-Based Air Defense
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![Photo of Vlad Litnarovych]( "Photo of Vlad Litnarovych")
The United States has tested a new specialized 5.56×45 mm anti-drone round designed to help infantry shoot down FPV and small quadcopter drones at close range—effectively turning a standard assault rifle into a “point-defense” weapon. The ammunition was demonstrated by the military analyst on the Administrative Results YouTube channel on November 18.
US engineers developed the round with an offset center of mass and a modified jacket that causes it to lose gyroscopic stability about 10–15 meters after leaving the barrel.
Instead of flying straight, the projectile begins to wobble and shed fragments, creating a wide cone of debris meant to compensate for a drone’s tiny profile and high speed.
The new ammo is fully compatible with AR-15s, SIG MCXs, SCAR-L rifles, and any other firearm chambered in 5.56×45. No adapters, muzzle devices, or special optics are required—the shooter literally swaps magazines and gains a close-range counter-UAS tool.
During testing, shooters fired at moving drone simulators at distances from 15 to 50 meters. High-speed cameras captured the distinctive “wobble” and a stable cloud of fragments forming mid-flight.
At 25–35 meters, the projectile produced a strike cone roughly 12–16 inches wide. At 40–50 meters, the cone expanded to 24–32 inches, dramatically increasing the chance of hitting an FPV even without a precise shot.
❗️🇺🇦Ukraine has developed a new type of anti-drone ammunition
— 🪖MilitaryNewsUA🇺🇦 (@front_ukrainian) July 13, 2025
More about the ammunition:
▪️a standard 5.56 mm cartridge designed for NATO-style CZ Bren and M4 rifles.
▪️after firing, the cartridge breaks up into approximately five fast-moving pellets.
▪️when firing several… pic.twitter.com/sfEi6UhrOO
Only partial contact with the fragment cloud is required to neutralize a drone: a damaged propeller, camera, antenna, or battery sends it into an uncontrolled fall within fractions of a second.
Compared with standard FMJ rounds, the new ammunition offers a vastly higher probability of a hit—widening the intercept zone from a 6-inch target to as much as half a meter.
At close distances, its effectiveness approaches that of 12-gauge shotgun solutions while retaining the controllability, rate of fire, and low recoil of the 5.56 platform.
Earlier, American startup Allen Control Systems signed a contract with the US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) to supply its Bullfrog autonomous anti-drone turrets.
Allen Control Systems states that the estimated cost per intercepted drone is about $10. In the M240 configuration, Bullfrog offers an effective range of up to 800 meters, a firing rate of 850 rounds per minute, and a system weight of roughly 75 kilograms without ammunition.
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-111f0e5095e02c02446ffed57bfb0ab1.jpeg "Photo of Roman Kohanets")