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Ukrainian Avenger Downs Russian Shahed Drone With Browning Machine Gun in First-Ever Recorded Strike
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![Photo of Amira Barkhush]( "Photo of Amira Barkhush")
-f88628fa403b11af0b72ec7b062ce954.jpeg "Photo of Amira Barkhush")
Ukrainian Air Defense shot down a Russian Shahed drone using a Browning heavy machine gun mounted on the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air defense system.
The video, shared by the Air Force’s Southern Command, is believed to be the first of its kind and was spotted by open-source intelligence analyst OSINTtechnical.
According to the unit’s statement, on the night of April 2, 2025, mobile fire teams from the Odesa Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade destroyed 10 Russian drones of various types, including Shahed drones.
Some of the footage shows a night-vision view from the optical channel of the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger air defense system as it targets and takes down a Russian suicide drone.
According to OSINTtechnical, this is the first-ever video showing Ukrainian operators using the American Avenger system to shoot down a Russian Shahed drone with the M2 machine gun, a 12.7 mm aircraft variant of the M2 Browning with double the rate of fire, reaching up to 1,200 rounds per minute.
The Avenger is a self-propelled surface-to-air missile system that provides short-range air defense protection for ground units against cruise missiles. It’s an unarmored Humvee truck with a swiveling, open-top turret for up to eight Stinger infrared-guided surface-to-air missiles and a .50-caliber machine gun with a range of up to 5km.
On March 6, it was reported that Ukraine’s Armed Forces successfully targeted and disabled a Russian Kasta radar station worth $60 million with a high-precision strike, the Come Back Alive Foundation reported, sharing footage of the hit.
