zzdcar
Home
/
Reviews
/
Beyond Cars
/
Russia’s Shotgun-Wielding Drone Is the Flying Nightmare You Didn’t Know You Had
Russia’s Shotgun-Wielding Drone Is the Flying Nightmare You Didn’t Know You Had-April 2024
2024-02-19 EST 22:14:03

One of Russia’s largest defense contractors has received a patent for, of all things, a shotgun-wielding flying drone.A video uploaded to YouTube shows the drone, which sounds like a chainsaw, blowing away flying targets before making a landing. Whatever bright days you thought lay ahead for humanity, the future is full of things like flying, man-hunting shotguns.

The drone was patented by Russian defense manufacturer JSC Almaz Antey, according to , a Russian defense blog. Almaz Antey is responsible for some of Moscow’s most advanced weapons, including for the S-400 “Triumf” long range surface-to-air missile system, one of the most advanced missile systems in the world.

Work on the 50-pound drone began in 2016 and was carried out on behalf of Almaz Antey by the Student Design Bureau of Aviation Modeling at the Moscow Aviation Institute. With a flight time of 40 minutes, the drone is controlled by an operator wearing a visor who aims the shotgun through a live video link and sighting system. While it may look like nothing more than a R/C airplane with a shotgun installed, one has to remember that all non-autonomous drones are basically scaled-up remote controlled airplanes, ships, and tanks.

The unnamed drone seems to continue the company’s “if it flies, it dies” theme. Instead of a regular, aerodynamically shaped nose like pretty much any other drone, it has a 12 gauge shotgun barrel. Indeed, the entire front half of the aircraft is actually a fully automatic version of the Vepr-12 shotgun, minus a totally unnecessary shoulder stock and pistol grip, because flying shotgun bots don’t have human shoulders. The Vepr-12 is externally similar to the AK series of Russian assault rifles, but instead fires from a magazine of ten 12-gauge shotgun shells.

The video shows the drone taking off from a tail-sitting position, quickly shooting down a large red balloon, then downing a remote controlled airplane a few minutes later, before returning to land in the tail-sitting position.

The use of a shotgun instead of a rifle or pistol makes perfect sense. As any duck hunter will tell you, the dispersed pattern of tiny shotgun pellets is more effective at hitting small moving targets than the single bullet from other firearms. Flying drones are particularly fragile, unable to adapt if their aerodynamic profile is altered by even the slightest damage.

The tail-sitting method means the unmanned aircraft does not need a long, prepared runway to take off and land from. According to Russian sources the system also apparently has some kind of that allows the operator to continue blasting away at the target “without further adjusting course.” One particularly impressive feature is how the small drone handles the shotgun’s recoil, buzzing along like it was nothing. Here’s what it looks like when a human shoots a Vepr-12:

Here’s an interesting question worth pondering: is this new drone, designed to shoot down other flying objects, technically an unmanned fighter plane?

Russia’s shotgun drone is obviously a technology demonstrator—or more properly a student project—but souped up it could be a promising weapon system, both against other drones and people. It’s not as fancy as a on you, but a flying, human-aimed shotgun that hunts down its enemies is a uniquely terrifying prospect.

War, as it is, is already horrifying. Now add a swarm of thousands of shotgun-wielding flying robots.

Comments
Welcome to zzdcar comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Beyond Cars
This Is What A BBQ'd Russian 5th Generation Fighter Looks Like
This Is What A BBQ'd Russian 5th Generation Fighter Looks Like
One of Russia's Sukhoi T-50 prototypes had a very bad day recently, catching fire at the end of a test sortie and the resulting damage is pretty horrific. It is not clear what exactly caused the fire, but the PAK-FA program, although appearing to be moving along swiftly, has its...
Apr 3, 2026
Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind Shot Down, Towed Away By Truck
Ukrainian Mi-24 Hind Shot Down, Towed Away By Truck
I have , but I have yet to hear of any hard figures as to how many Ukrainian aircraft have been lost as a result, although I think the number is probably well into double digit territory. Check out this video of Marines training in Yuma on how to employ...
Apr 3, 2026
Watch These Giant Navy LCAC Hovercraft Conduct Night Ops
Watch These Giant Navy LCAC Hovercraft Conduct Night Ops
The Navy's Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is one hell of a heavy hauling monster. Yet their large size that makes them so effective leaves their operators little margin for error when operating from the well-decks of the Navy's amphibious assault ships, especially at night. LCACs can carry up to...
Apr 3, 2026
The Gargantuan XC-99 Was Almost The Post-WWII Airbus A380
The Gargantuan XC-99 Was Almost The Post-WWII Airbus A380
Everyone loves big planes. The bigger they are the more interesting they become. Famed mammoths like Howard Hughes' HK-1 "Hercules," otherwise known as the "Spruce Goose," and Antonov's gigantic An-225 "Dream" conjure up feelings that man has somehow cheated physics by creating such flying hulks. Even today's Airbus A380s, the...
Apr 3, 2026
Everything We Know About The Terrorist Attack On Karachi Airport
Everything We Know About The Terrorist Attack On Karachi Airport
Details remain fairly scant at this point, but it appears that Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan has come by gunmen strapped with explosives. The sky is bright red over NE Karachi and explosions continue to rock the airport's apron area. Check out this guy t as the airport was...
Apr 3, 2026
Watch This EA-6B Prowler Pilot's View Of A Catapult Launch
Watch This EA-6B Prowler Pilot's View Of A Catapult Launch
The EA-6B Prowler, the last of the true Grumman Navy iron, is currently on She has been almost entirely replaced by the way more modern E/A-18G Growler, although the USMC will continue to fly a couple dozen of these "flying frying pans" until the end of the decade. You've gotta...
Apr 3, 2026
Copyright 2023-2026 - www.zzdcar.com All Rights Reserved