Since our last article/video on gun-armed drones in September 2024, both sides have continued to develop the technology. We’ll be taking a look at the latest develeopments in gun-armed rotor-powered drones in a future article/video, in this video we’re going to take a look at the latest development: a gun-armed fixed wing UAV.
The first imagery of the ‘ZigZag’ UAV developed by Ukrainian drone manufacturer Sky Defenders was shared on social media 15 March. Shared on Sky Defenders’ official social media channels the minute long video shows a fixed wing UAV being launched, once in the sky the video cuts to an onboard camera view which features a crude but unmistakable sighting ring. In the nose of the UAV we can see a pair of tubes set side by side. The video shows a test flight of the twin prop UAV.
The ZigZag during flight testing, without its guns mounted, February 2025 (via Sky Defenders)
This appears to be the second fixed-wing drone developed by Sky Defenders. the first is the Vyryi M7 which is now said to be being delivered to Ukrainian units. The M7 is a loitering, or one-way, munition, powered by a single rear prop it has a 33km range and a warhead in its nose.
In an earlier video shared by a Misha a member of the Sky Defender’s team, posted on 5 March, we get a closer look at the ZigZag gun-armed drone. The video’s caption reads: “Please support the combat tests of the Zigzag interceptor aircraft. This UAV is quite an achievement for my small but really awesome team. We put all our resources into this project.”
The ZigZag firing its left, top, gun barrel during testing (via Sky Defenders)
The ZigZag has been in development since at least February 2025, with Sky Defenders sharing a short video from flight testing of the drone with the UAV seen without its four guns.
It appears that the drone actually has four rather than two gun barrels. There is only a short clip of the drone’s guns being tested and it doesn’t appear that the drone’s flight is impacted by the recoil of the gun. From the fuselage design it appears that the drone will not be using the counterweight recoilless gun designs used by the quadcopter gun-armed drones. It’s likely the the ZigZag is powerful enough to fire conventional-type ‘shotgun’ and withstand the recoil.
A close up of the ZigZag’s four-gun barrels and gimbal mounted camera (via Sky Defenders)
In the video we can see the aiming post and ring and behind it a camera on a 360-degree gimbal mount which enables aiming. While the M7 drone is a one-way-munition and not designed to return the ZigZag appears to be more robust and intended for repeated sorties. The range, weight and loitering time of the UAV is currently unknown. The role of the ZigZag appears to be as a dedicated drone hunter able to rapidly intercept opposing drones and engage them with its guns. It will be interesting to see how the ZigZag is employed.
The Sky Defenders ZigZag represents another interesting step in the rapidly evolving gun-armed drone space in Ukraine.
The S8 is an 80mm family of unguided rockets developed by the Soviet Union and still in service today. Developed in the 1970s there is a whole range of different types of warheads for the rockets and the S8s are most commonly seen being fired from both Russian and Ukrainian helicopters or Su-25s. We typically see both sides firing salvos of the rockets by pitching up the aircraft and launching, while this no doubt more inaccurate than firing them directly onto a ground target, as originally intended, the practice does keep the valuable aircraft somewhat out of the range of opposing air defences and must have some effect downrange as the practice has continued since the first weeks of the war.
Firing an improvised S8 launcher (via social media)
This week, however, a video of an improvised launcher developed to be fired from the shoulder emerged, seemingly developed by Russian personnel. We can see that the launcher has a pair of pistol grips, a shield made from four planks of wood with a small hole and a plastic screen tacked in place. An electrical box is also mounted on the shield, possibly containing a battery, with a cable tube running to the rear of the launch tube, ostensibly to ignite the rocket motor. It appears that there may be a trigger on the front grip. An individual in the video providing commentary states that the connection is ‘absolutely safe’. The launch tube appears to have at least one bracket welded to it for securing the shield. How the launcher is aimed is unclear, but the individual filming states that they are testing the principle and still need to make some refinements.
S8 rockets ready to be loaded onto a Ukrainian helicopter, 2023 (via social media)
The S8’s rocket burns for approximately 0.7 seconds, generating around 5,800 Newtons of thrust. Depending on the variant of rocket used the rocket has a velocity of around 450 m/s, some variants are faster, this is around 4x faster than a conventional shoulder-fired rocket system, an RPG-22 for example has a muzzle velocity of approximately 130 m/s.
Shield and pistols grips of the improvised S8 launcher (via social media)
The clip shows the firer shoulder the weapon and fire, the launch is successful with the launcher operating as expected but the recoil from the extremely fast moving rocket was considerable. The exhaust gases also appear to have acted on the shield pushing it back against the operator. The launcher flies completely out of the operators hands just after launching, with the shield – designed to protect against rocket’s exhaust gases, apparently striking him in the face. The individual filming continues to track the flight of the rocket and the firer is not shown again.
Preparing to fire an improvised S8 launcher (via social media)
The idea of shoulder launching an S8 has been explored before in Chechnya and elsewhere but unless the force of the launch can be mitigated then the results are the same. Ground improvisation with S8 rockets isn’t uncommon with lots of improvised multiple-launch rocket systems (DIY MLRS) being used by both sides, these typically use pre-existing rocket pods mounted on vehicles. This is a topic for a future article/video. A single S8 launch tube on a mount or tripod, where the danger to the operator is minimised, might have useful applications, similar mounts have already been developed to fire Grad rockets with some degree of accuracy.
While the Mk19 40×53 mm automatic grenade launcher has become increasingly ubiquitous in Ukraine, alongside familiar Soviet-era AGLs like the AGS-17, but there are other automatic grenade launchers in use. In this video we’ll look at the use of the comparatively rare Heckler & Koch GMG.
Developed in the early 1990s the GMG (grenade machine gun) or Granatmaschinenwaffe (GMW) uses an advanced primer ignition blowback action. Gun, mount and tripod combined weighs in at around 47.5kgs and has a maximum range of 2,500m. It feeds from 32-round disintegrating belts and is used by over twenty countries.
On 23 May 2023, the German government confirmed that 100 GMGs were to be transferred to Ukraine. The first back of 30 GMGs were confirmed to have reached Ukraine by the German government on 8 December. A subsequent batch of 70 guns were reportedly delivered in March 2024. On 23 December 2024, the German government announced that an additional 120 GMGs had be transferred to Ukraine bringing the total number provided by Germany to 220.
Additionally, it is likely that a small number of HK GMGs may have been provided along with vehicles provided by various countries including the Netherlands and Slovenia. While it is difficult to confirm if a vehicle has simply been mounted with a GMG, rather than being delivered with it, some of the vehicles appeared in Ukraine before Germany pledged the GMGs as aid.
The first HK GMG’s appeared in Ukraine long before the German government began providing them as aid. The first gun was seen in October 2022, appearing in a short clip of a KNDS Fennek reconnaissance vehicle. It should be noted that while confirming if this video was filmed in Ukraine is difficult, the delivery of the vehicles has been confirmed by the Dutch government. Fenneks can either mount a GMG, an M2 Browning or a GPMG. An unknown number of Fenneks are confirmed to have been provided by the Netherlands.
It’s worth noting the Ukrainian troops who have been trained in the UK as part of Operation Interflex may also have been familiarised with the HK GMG which is in UK service as the L134A1, the UK is not known to have provided any of the guns to Ukraine. Ukrainian troops training in the UK in November 2022 were seen familiarising with the GMG, but this may simply have been to familiarise with Western 40mm grenade launchers rather than with the GMG specifically.
There is a considerable gap between sightings with the next appearance coming in February 2024, when a Slovenian Valuk 6×6 armoured personnel carrier equipped with one appeared in a video from Ukrainian journalist Ramina Eshakza. The vehicles gunner discusses using the GMG and close ups show that it is loaded with a belt of M430A1 High Explosive Dual Purpose. The gunner notes that he liked the assistance in aiming that the GMG’s shoulder rest provides.
Following the arrival of the first batches of GMGs donated by Germany in the first half of 2024, the weapons began to appear more regularly throughout the second half of 2024. On 12 July, the 115th Territorial Defense Brigade shared a series of photographs of troops training. In two of the photos men can be seen training with an HK GMG, noteably the gun has an interesting set of markings on its feed tray cover – which read: “Not like Mk19! Male link first!” in English and accompanied by pictograms indicating the link orientation. These markings were added in December 2023, ostensibly to avoid confusion for operators who might be more familiar with the Mk19 and assume the loading procedure is the same. Given HK’s production workflow it is possible that these markings were added specifically for the Ukraine contract, why the text wasn’t rendered in Ukrainian is unclear.
Two months later, on 10 September, a Russian drone team claimed to have have suppressed a Ukrainian position, specifically naming the weapon as a GMG. The footage’s low resolution makes this difficult to confirm. Later in September a photo was shared of a Ukrainian combatant sat next to a GMG, the date, location and the combatant’s unit is unknown.
On 8 October, a team from the GUR’s 2nd Special Operations Detachment KORD, which is a part of the Tymur Special Unit, shared a photograph of a GMG in the rear pedestal mount of a ridged inflatable boat. The mount features an armoured shield to protect the gunner.
A week later the 44th Mechanised Brigade shared several photos of a Valuk APC mounted with a GMG. In one of the photographs the gun’s serial number is visible, ‘57000483’ which would place it’s manufacture in the early 2000s. This confirms that the GMGs seen mounted on the Valuks came with the vehicles and not from German aid.
In early November the Kalinoŭski Regiment shared a video, said to show an engagement near Liptsi in the Kharkiv region. An HK GMG engages Russian infantry in the open and uses a drone feed to correct the fall of shot. This is the only footage we have of a GMG actually operating in Ukraine.
Several weeks later, on 19 November, the 44th Mechanised Brigade shared another image of one of their GMG-armed Valuk APCs in a post commemorating the 1,000th day since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
On 27 November, the GUR’s Aratta Battalion used a photo of an HK GMG mounted on a Polaris MRZR all-terrain vehicle on the thumbnail of a social media video. The vehicle and GMG, however, don’t appear in the video. A member Med Team Alpha, an element of the GUR’s International Legion, posted a photograph on 21 December, with a tripod-mounted GMG in the background.
On the 22 December a member of another GUR International Legion team, the Delta Knights, posted a series of photos with an HK GMG in a fighting position. The location of the position is unknown, notably he’s also holding an HK MG4, keep an eye out for our article/video on those.
The Aratta Battalion’s GMG mounted on an Polaris ATV does appear in the background of a photo posted on 1 January 2025. On the 9 January 2025, another photograph, possibly from a member of the Aratta Battalion, also showed an HK GMG mounted on the back of a Polaris ATV.
On 10 January, MTAC, a Ukrainian military clothing and gear manufacturer, shared a photograph of a combatant posing with a pintle mounted GMG on a Polaris. Notably the GMG’s reflex sight is not fitted. This Polaris may be one of those previously seen with Aratta Battalion.
Thank you to Matthias, Dikobraz and DEaidUA for their invaluable help with this article/video.
Update: 1/2/25: The GUR’s Artan Unit were featured in a CBS report which showed them setting up an HK GMG during training. Artan shared this on Telegram on 31/1/25.
Update 11/2/25: An automatic grenade launcher team from the GUR’s Artan Unit were seen in action with an HK GMG in a video shared on 5/2/25. The team do not appear to be using the weapon’s sights suggesting they are correcting fall of shot by observation and are firing on pre-ordained coordinates.
Update 11/2/25: A support team from the Belarussian Volunteer Corps operating an HK GMG during an operation near Vovchansk. No reflex sight or other optic is used, instead the team utilises the ladder sight. This also appears to be the first occasion we have seen a GMG painted. (Source)
A support team from the Belarussian Volunteer Corps operating an HK GMG during an operation near Vovchansk.
On 23 December 2024 the German government confirmed that 200 Heckler & Koch MG4 5.56x45mm machine guns had been delivered as aid to Ukraine. The MG4s join the 7.62x51mm MG5s which have already been provided, along with a plethora of other HK small arms and light weapons including HK GMGs and a significant number of SFP9 pistols.
The MG4 was developed in the mid-1990s and adopted by the Germany Army in 2005. It is a gas operated light machine gun with an effective range of 600m. It weighs 8.7 kg (19.8lbs) unloaded, has an overall length of 1085mm (42.7in) and feeds from NATO standard disintegrating metal belts.
MG4 with Thales Xtraim and magnifier (shybenyk.squad)
While the delivery of MG4s was only confirmed in late December the guns appear to have arrived in country earlier with the first sighting of one coming on 3 December 2024. The initial sighting of the weapon was posted on Instagram by a Ukrainian combatant, likely a member of the GUR’s special operations teams. The initial photograph appears to have been taken indoors at a range and the flat dark earth colour across all parts of the weapon – rather than black or RAL8000, appears to indicate a base coat for a custom paint job. The weapon also has an FN Minimi belt box, while an adapter isn’t needed to use a Minimi box or bag, HK offers an adapter which enables more ergonomic mounting on the MG4.
A day later the same combatant posted a video showing him firing the MG4 on the move. From both the video and earlier photograph we can see that the weapon has the Gen 1 pattern fixed length, folding stock and a 17.7″ (450 mm) barrel. The gun is mounted with a Hensoldt RSA-S Reflex Sight on top of a Hensoldt 4x30i magnified optic.
On the 8 December the combatant shared another video, the MG4 is seen with the camouflage paint job completed and equipped with just the Hensoldt RSA-S, conducting training drills at a range.
On the 14 December, Shybenyk.Squad, another GUR team – associated with the Kraken Regiment, shared a photograph of a combatant with an MG4 notably fitted with a rare Thales Xtraim thermal fusion holographic sight and a magnifier. The MG4 is loaded with HK’s proprietary fabric soft ammo pouch. Several days later on 19 December, they shared a group photo taken in Orikhiv in Zaporizhzhia. Speaking to a member of Shybenyk.Squad they shared some thoughts on the MG4 stating:
“the weapon is very reliable and highly accurate, it can withstand the heavy load of endless enemy assaults, requiring only periodic lubrication. The disadvantages include insufficient ergonomics and weight, with which it is difficult to control during assault actions.”
They went on to explain that they received spare barrels and spare parts for the weapon.
A painted MG4 (via social media)
On the 20 December, MTAC, a Ukrainian military clothing and gear manufacturer, shared a photograph of the combatant with the MG4 – showcasing some MTAC products. The Hensoldt RSA-S reflex sight can again be seen.
On the 22 December, a member of the Delta Knights, an element of the GUR’s International Legion, posted a series of photos featuring an MG4. In the first he poses with a recently donated axe and in the second he showed his unit’s MG5 alongside the new MG4. In these photographs the gun is clearly unpainted and has a factory RAL8000 finish but has a black heat shield – this is seen on other examples too. It also has the same Gen 1 pattern fixed length, folding stock as seen on the earlier seen MG4. When asked what they thought of it Delta Knights simply replied “we love it so far”.
A 7.62x51mm HK MG5 and 5.56x45mm HK MG4 (Kevin Vinje/Delta Knights)
The most recent MG4 sightings, at the time of writing , appeared on 10 January 2025, when the Artan Special Unit, also affiliated with the GUR, shared a photograph of a combatant holding one of the machine guns, again with a RAL8000 finnish and mounted with a 4x30i Hensoldt optic with which it is likely the guns shipped with.
From the limited number of sightings of the weapons so far it appears that the MG4s have been predominantly issued to GUR teams including Delta Knights and Artan. With 200 guns delivered we will likely see MG4s appearing in imagery more often over the coming months.
Thank you to Matthias and DEaidUA for their invaluable help with this article/video. Thank you also to shybenyk.squad for sharing their thoughts on the MG4.
Update – 11/2/25: The GUR’s Artan Unit shared a team photo featuring an MG4 on 6 February.
On the 27 December, a Ukrainian fundraising charity posted a series of short videos featuring a drone with a pair of gun barrels. The Lesia UA Foundation provide Ukrainian units with vehicles, bikes, drones and personal equipment procured with the funds they raise. It appears that they have helped to fund the development or fielding of an unknown number of gun-armed drones.
The footage of the gun-drone in action was shared on 27 December with the telegram post stating [machine translated]:
“For the first time on video – drones and hard drives shot down other drones Defenders of Ukraine test #LesiaUAtechnology developments Stay tuned and we’ll show you even more exclusive shots! Together to victory!”
In the first video the gun-drone follows a quadcopter with the drone’s camera panning up and down several times between what appear to be a pair of barrels. The quadcopter is downed with damage to one of its rotors and appears to be trailing smoke as it spirals to the ground.
View between the barrels of a Ukrainian gun drone (via social media)
In the second short clip what appears to be a bomber drone, carrying an explosive hanging beneath it, is shot down as very close range as it hovers. Similarly, the third video shows a bomber drone which is shot down at close range as it hovered with damage to its rotor blades. At the time of writing the Lesia UA Foundation have not released any additional clips of the drone in action or any images of what the drone looks like.
While in recent months we have seen drones armed with both RPGs and AK-74s these have been used in the air-to-ground role. The shotgun-like blasts seen in these clips are more useful for close range air-to-air engagements. From the lack of recoil seen in the clips, the large bore diameter of the barrels and their positioning on the drone, either side of a camera gimbal, it would appear that the gun used by the drone follows a recoilless principal. The recoilless guns work along the premise of Newton’s Third Law of Motion, that all things have an equal and opposite reaction – as such two guns are connected back to back, with the backwards-facing gun firing a counter-weight – mitigating recoil which prevents the drone’s flight from being destabilised.
A Russian recoilless gun drone developed in 2024 (via social media)
Why a recoilless gun and not a conventional shotgun? Principal factors governing this are likely weight, effectiveness and recoil. The recoilless guns have a larger bore diameter meaning larger load and increased hit probability. Additionally they are simpler with no-working or recoiling parts (as they load is likely electrically ignited) and they are lighter allowing the drone to stay in the air for longer and/or travel further. The key downside to the use of a single shot recoilless gun is that it can fire only one round. The Ukrainian drones have sought to mitigate this by seemingly equipping their drone with two of the guns.
While we haven’t yet seen an image of the Ukrainian gun-armed drone, we have seen a Russian example which was developed in the summer of 2024, tested but reportedly not yet fielded. The Russian drone was developed by the BRT company who, in a recent telegram post, expressed their frustration at seeing a Ukrainian recoilless gun drone in use.
While successfully engaging an enemy drone with a gun is difficult it is the detection and tracking of enemy drones which is likely the most challenging part. This may lead to these recoilless gun-equipped drones being used in a sort of combat air patrol role, seeking out and hunting down enemy drones over an area where they have been reported. It remains to be seen if these recoilless gun-armed drones will proliferate as a method of countering the huge number of small drones used by both sides but from the limited footage of them in action that is available the concept seems proven.
Update – 10/1/24: Additional footage has surfaced showing the drone firing on Russian infantry.
In an unsurprising turn of events the Ukrainian recoilless gun drone has now been seen firing on infantry. Looks like an FPV also targeted the Russian.
— Matthew Moss | The Armourer's Bench (@historicfirearm) January 10, 2025
Update – 15/1/25: Additional footage of the Ukrainian drone in action, shared by a drone unit with the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 30th Mechanized Brigade.
A compilation of footage from the Ukrainian 'shotgun' drone which I covered in a video a few weeks ago. The footage was shared by a drone unit with the 2nd Mechanized Battalion of the 30th Mechanized Brigade.
In this special video I had the privilege of field stripping a Heckler & Koch G11. We strip the rifle down into its major assemblies and then explain how the ‘space magic’ works!
I explain how the recoil management system, which compensated for the recoil of firing a 3-round burst at ~2,000rpm, worked and how rifle’s ingenious rotating breech operated. This video demonstrates just how complex and ambitious the HK G11 was!
For more information and more photographs of the G11 disassembled check out the original article – here.
This is a remaster of an earlier video with a new fun intro and the full 1990 Aberdeen Proving Ground video filmed by HK, it is the best available look at the G11 in action. I’ve been meaning to remaster this video and make some additions for a while. Hope you enjoy it.
This week another image of a very rarely seen shotgun in Ukraine appeared, an M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System. These are magazine-fed, bolt-action shotguns which can be mounted on rifles.
The M26 is essentially the US military’s bolt-action Masterkey at home. Developed in the early 2000s by C-More Systems it was selected by the US Army in 2008 and began fielding in 2011 seeing operational service in Iraq and Afghanistan. It is still in service today.
M26 Modular Accessory Shotgun System in its standalone configuration (US DoD)
The shotgun has a 3 inch chamber and uses a straight-pull bolt-action. It’s box magazine-fed with 3 or 5 round capacities available. It can also be used as a standalone once a stock and pistol grip assembly is attached, it has folding back-up iron sights but uses the rifle’s sights when mounted. The MASS’ safety and bolt-handle are reversible to allow ambidextrous operation. The M26 was designed to be employed as a breaching shotgun for shooting hinges and locks, the barrel is tipped with a breaching stand-off adapter muzzle-device. In its rifle-mounted configuration the M26 weighs around 3lbs (1.4kg) and has an overall length of 16.5 inches (42cm). It has an improved cylinder bore profile (sometimes referred to as a 1/4 choke), meaning it has an integral choke with a slight constriction that allows the shot to spread quickly after leaving the muzzle, the practical range for this type of choke is around 15-30 yards.
The most recent sighting of one of the shotguns came on 19 December. Ukrainian outlet Tyskshared a photograph of a Ukrainian operator armed with an M4A1 carbine topped with an ACOG and equipped with a M26 MASS In Ukraine. The M26 in the photograph appears to be loaded with a five-round magazine.
Sightings of the M26 in Ukraine are extremely rare, with the only other example appearing in a ХЛОПЦІ З ЛІСУ (Boys from the Forrest) video which showcased weapons used by the UA Reg is the 1st Special Operations Detachment of the 8th Regiment, SSO (UA SOF). The M26 seen in that video was in the standalone configuration with pistol grip and stock attached. Sadly, the shotgun itself wasn’t discussed in the video.
M4A1 mounted with an M26 (via Tysk)
While Russia has not officially fielded anything similar we have seen efforts to adapt GP-25 under-barrel grenade launchers with shotgun adaptors and there has been at least one sighting, back in May, of an improvised slam-fire tube-shotgun mounted under-barrel on an AK-12. The shotguns even appeared on the Russia 1 state TV channel.
Since the latest photograph appeared there has been significant speculation as to whether it might be being used to defend against First-Person View (FPV) drones. This may be unlikely given the weapon’s short 7.75 (197mm) barrel, this length would limit its effectiveness in engaging more distant drones but might be useful in engaging approaching FPV drones- as a last ditch defence. This is something we’ve seen Russian combatants improvising weapons to deal with. The speed with which FPV drones close on their targets, however, would make multiple shots from the M26 unlikely due to its manual action. This would reduce the chances of successfully engaging an on-coming drone.
Standalone M26 (via ХЛОПЦІ З ЛІСУ)
While any shotgun is better than no shotgun the units that the M26 has been seen with definitely have access to shotguns better suited to engaging drones. Where the M26 is more likely to be useful in Ukraine, is in its original role – as a breaching shotgun. Ukrainian units regularly find themselves operating in urban areas where quick access into rooms is key. Provided they have breaching rounds then the M26 might be most useful in this role.
Update – 4/1/24: Tysk have shared some redacted footage of the M26 at the range along with the operator’s thoughts (machine translated):
“Experience shows the rifle’s effective range does not exceed 30 meters, and that already requires above average level of training. Adding so much weight to the rifle increases the weight of the barrel too. I would argue one has to be quite a tough guy to stay in a ready position for long. Especially considering people nowadays cannot do the same even with an AK. In my humble opinion, this weapon system has its niche and can even be useful as an independent piece but becomes too impractical when coupled with an M4.”
Our friend with his M26 MASS rifle during exercises. His opinion on M26 is below:
Experience shows the rifle's effective range does not exceed 30 meters, and that already requires above average level of training. Adding so much weight to the rifle increases the weight of the… pic.twitter.com/r1YxVNHbED
On Friday, it was confirmed that the CZ Bren 2 will be assembled in Ukraine. This marks the first partnership since Russia’s Invasion in February 2022, that will see foreign small arms assembled in Ukraine. The Bren 2 is a 5.56x45mm select-fire gas-operated rifle which was first introduced as the CZ 805 BREN in 2011. While CZ Bren 805s have appeared in Ukraine the BREN 2 is much more common and favoured by troops on the ground.
We’ll take an in-depth look at their use in a future article/video but a considerable number of Ukrainian units ranging from special forces units to regular army have been seen equipped with the Czech rifles. Visually confirmed variants in Ukrainian service include the initial 5.56x45mm BREN 805 and later BREN 2 in various barrel lengths and configuration including the 8 inch barrel carbine with both side folding and telescoping stocks and the much more common rifles with side folding stocks and 11 and 14 inch barrels. There have also been a limited number of sightings of 7.62x39mm 8 inch barrel carbines and a number of 7.62x51mm BREN 2 BRs.
The first indications that production of the BREN 2 might be established in Ukraine came on 29 September 2023. During the first ever Ukrainian International Defence Industries Forum Deputy Minister of Defense Daniel Blažkovec stated that “the transfer of production of the Bren 2 “Sich” assault rifle” was a major, ‘flagship’ project.
Ukrainian Special Operations with CZ BREN 2s (via social media)
Sich (Січ) in Ukrainian refers to a historic form of fortified administrative and military camp used by Cossacks during the 16th century and later became associated with the Euromaidan in 2013. Since the name was used in September 2023, it has not appeared again.
In an announcement posted on 13 December, Ukraine’s state-owned defence corporation Ukroboronprom stated that the Ukrainian Defense Industry had begun licensed assembly of BREN 2s and that the agreement with CZ covers local assembly of rifles and will later include “full production of NATO-standard assault rifles in Ukraine”, the agreement was signed on 16 July 2024. Oleg Hulyak, Director General of Ukroboronprom, stated:
“Partnership with Czech colleagues will help to improve the provision of the needs of the Defense Forces of Ukraine in reliable and modern small arms produced in our country. In addition, another step has been taken towards the integration of our defense-industrial complex into the industrial chains of NATO countries,”
I reached out to Colt CZ Group for comment, Jan Zajíc, CEO of Česká zbrojovka, said in a statement:
“We are happy that together with our Ukroboronprom partners, we have successfully completed the assembly phase of the CZ BREN 2 assault rifle on the Ukrainian soil. Following the training of Ukroboronprom personnel at Česká zbrojovka, Ukraine is now able to deliver to its Armed Forces the CZ BREN 2 rifles assembled in Ukraine according to Česká zbrojovka‘s strict quality standards. We are ready to continue our cooperation in the future, all the way to full technology transfer.“
Ukrainian GUR chief, Kyrylo Budanov, and associates during a June 2022 visit to Sievierodonetsk. One individual has a 5.56x45mm CZ BREN 2 and the other a rare 7.62x39mm BREN 2 with an 8in barrel and telescoping stock (via social media)
Currently the only other country which has a similar arrangement with CZ is Hungary which has established Colt CZ Hungary to enable Hungary’s HM Arzenal to assemble/manufacture BREN 2s for the Hungarian armed forces. This isn’t the first time Ukraine has worked with external firearms manufacturers with an earlier partnership seeing Ukrainian small arms manufacturer Fort assemble Israeli IWI weapons under license in the 2000s. See our earlier look at the Ukrainian Fort Tavor bullpup rifles here.
The future significance of CZ’s establishment of an assembly line in Ukraine remains to be seen but as Ukraine seeks to further integrate with its Western allies and take up NATO standards the ability to produce a NATO calibre rifle, which is already in widespread Ukrainian service, will be extremely useful. From the statements released it appears that assembly of the rifles may be the first step towards localised production, it will be interesting to track CZ and Ukroboronprom’s partnership.
We have previously examined a couple of Russian efforts to develop small arms-based anti-drone weapons including the single-shot shotgun insert for GP-25 under-barrel grenade launchers and in the future we’ll examine the efforts to develop an anti-drone shotgun muzzle device which is now in production at several Russian companies. All of these efforts have one thing in common – they are seeking to turn the individual soldier’s rifle into a weapon capable of countering the enormous drone threat they are facing.
In this article/video we’ll examine perhaps the simplest attempt at creating counter-drone ammunition I’ve come across so far. While a number of Russian companies have developed specialist shotgun ammunition for increasing the probability of shooting down drones with 12 gauge shotguns there has been no official or commercial efforts to develop an anti-drone 5.45x39mm rifle round. The efforts examined here all appear to be localised with the concept disseminated via social media.
In early July, a video showing a Russian combatant making home-made buckshot cartridges for their AK-74 pattern rifles was shared. The quoted caption read: “To combat annoying drones, our soldiers are remaking AK cartridges by inserting buckshot charges in them in a dielectric heat shrink.” In the video the Russian combatant demonstrates filling a length of electrical wire insulation sleeving with ball bearings, pushing them in with what appears to be a tent peg. He then uses a candle to heat shrink the sleeve around the ball bearings and then takes a 5.45x39mm cartridge, with the projectile pre-extracted, and places the ball bearings into the cartridge case, down on top of the propellant. He then heat shrinks the exposed ball bearings and hand crimps the case neck around them.
Since the July video I didn’t come across any imagery showing the buckshot until November, when interest in the concept seems to have increased with a flurry of posts on Russian telegram channels discussing the manufacture of the rounds and their pros and cons. The first of the second wave of posts came on 12 November, with a telegram channel sharing a photograph of two buckshot 5.45x39mm cartridges alongside two sleeves of seven ball bearings. The post makes some interesting observations; suggesting alternating the loading the magazine with the buckshot and tracer rounds. The post also mentions that the 4.5mm diameter of the shot is smaller than the diameter of the barrel and that this will likely impact ‘accuracy’ – though I suspect this is just one of numerous factors which will impact on effectiveness of the rounds. The post also notes that the plastic sleeving is likely to gum up the barrel’s rifling which will in turn impact the accuracy of the rifle and could lead to catastrophic fouling. The post concludes by suggesting while the idea is flawed if you don’t have a shotgun available the improvised buckshot is better than nothing.
Two days later on the 14 November, a video showing the assembly of a buckshot round identical to those seen in the previous photograph was shared. A Russian combatant fills a cable sleeve with seven Crossman 4.5mm (.177) ball bearings, he heat shrinks it with a lighter and then puts the shot into another slightly wider piece of sleeve which he also heat shrinks. Then he hand seats the shot in a standard 7N6 cartridge case and uses a pair of pliers to crimp the case neck.
On 16 November, the first video claiming to show the buckshot in action was posted. The clip begins with a drone feed video showing a lone Russian combatant in a trench system before cutting to helmet camera footage showing the combatant firing up at a passing FPV drone, he appears to successfully clip one of the drone’s rotors. The footage may have been filmed at a training range. Alongside the video they posted a photograph of a magazine loaded with the buckshot. The post’s caption again recommends alternately loading the magazine, this time with a sequence of ball ammunition and buckshot, claiming that “this sequence allows you to fight air targets as effectively as possible”.
On the 18 November, the same channel shared a short post explaining how the buckshot cartridges are assembled and what is needed. The post shows the same photograph that was shared on 12 November. This post suggests using the buckshot with a mix of tracer when firing from vehicles and standard ball ammunition when on foot.
Another Russian channel uploaded a pair of videos on the 29 November, one showing the assembly of a buckshot cartridge and a demonstration video. The first video shows several individuals in a workshop assembling the buckshot cartridges. Several individuals are working on different states of assembly with one feeding the shot into the plastic sleeving, another using a heat gun to shrink form the sleeving, another pulling projectiles from 5.45x39mm cartridges and another cutting the sleeve of shot to length, about six ball bearings, before seating it in a cartridge. This process shows production at a more significant scale.
The second video shows a demonstration of the rounds being fired from an AK-74. In the video the combatant recommends not using the rifles standard muzzle-brake to in feat of the shot striking it. The combatant then empties a magazine of buckshot, though its difficult to make out if the entire magazine is buckshot or if there is a mix. The video then shows the target downrange, a sheet of metal, perforated with a significant dispersal pattern.
A post on another Russian telegram channel shared on 3 December, included the earlier videos along with a couple of photographs of a pair of jungle-taped magazines alternately loaded with the buckshot and a mix of ball and what appears to be black-tip armour piercing 7N22. Interestingly, the post suggests that the alternated non-buckshot rounds ‘clean’ the bore of any residue from the plastic sleeving.
The most recent sighting of the buckshot, at the time of writing, were published on 5 December. They include a range video which demonstrates the buckshot, with the caption claiming that from 14 rounds fired there were “41 punctures in the target”, the target appears to be about 25 feet (8 metres) away. It is worth noting that the rifle’s muzzle-brake has been removed. In the replies to the post a photo of some buckshot rounds was shared showing them alongside a length of sleeving filled with shot and a bottle of Crosman ball bearings.
The final video shared on 5 December again shows the typical production of the home-made buckshot rounds. This time lead shotgun pellets are used rather than ball bearings. The caption of the video notes that it is essential to clean the rifle after using the buckshot ammunition. It also notes that the main strength of the home-made ammunition is that its simple and instantly on hand if a soldier carries a magazine loaded with it, then he can quickly load and engage a drone.
The development of the home-made 5.45x39mm buckshot is certainly intriguing and at short ranges, from the available imagery, appears to have some merit. It enable an combatant armed with an AK-74 to theoretically engage a drone with a potentially slightly improved hit probability – though they may have to operate with their muzzle-brake permanently removed. Drones remain one of the key battlefield threats for combatants in Ukraine but it is unlikely this ad hoc solution is effective against drones at ranges of more than 20 yards. The dispersion of the five to seven shot is extremely unpredictable given it is being fired from a rifled barrel and there is not choke.
Many Russian posts discuss the potential for damage to the rifle and while this is certainly possible, especially when using the steel BBs rather than lead shot, the user however, is unlikely to be firing hundreds of rounds of the buckshot – especially given how time consuming production appears to be. Fouling from the plastic cable sleeves used may also have detrimental effects and cause barrel obstructions. It’s also unclear how reliably the round will feed given the varied projectile length and lack of rigidity when feeding. Additionally, once in field conditions significant temperature changes could impact the integrity of the plastic sleeves. Never the less the idea is ingenious but it illustrates how urgently defences against FPVs and other drones are needed by troops in the field.
Update – 22/12/24: A clip of a Ukrainian testing a version of the ammunition with 6 ball bearings. He feels the concept has enough merit for it to be of some use. (Source)
A Ukrainian soldier tests the use of 5.45 cartridges with an AK-47 using modified cartridges that have the bullet replaced with a heat-shrink tube containing 6 buckshot. Similar to the Russian 4-shot cartridges, the shot easily pierced a plywood target. https://t.co/EacJQoCtjypic.twitter.com/HnjShmapg5
— Matthew Moss | The Armourer's Bench (@historicfirearm) December 25, 2024
Update – 9/1/25: Another clip of Ukrainian’s testing the ‘AK buckshot’ concept.
Ukrainian testing against FPVs of 5.45 rifle cartridges reloaded with 5 buckshot. A propeller on the second FPV was hit but it failed to bring down the drone, showing the toughness of fiber carbon props. https://t.co/P4Vnu0b4f0pic.twitter.com/aIEb9ococQ
In this article/video we’ll examine an an interesting and very simple 3D printed anti-personnel mine developed by the Ukrainians. The mines are similar in purpose and size to the Russian PFM-1, the so-called ‘Butterfly’ mines. However, their shape and form factor is similar to that of the larger PMN-4, but they are significantly simpler.
3D printed mine found in the field (via social media)
The 3D printed mine’s explosive filling is said to be around 30g, with an overall weight of 55g. The mine is made up of a two-part outer shell printed in PLA, or another similar plastic. The two pieces screw together and a layer of plastic explosive is in the bottom half of the shell along with a percussion initiator of some sort. The top half of the mine has a small metal Philips-head screw protruding down through the top, this acts as a striker for the initiator. There is a tube protruding up from the lower half of the mine, printed as part of the body, which likely guides the screw and holds the initiator.
The mine appears to work along the principle of when stepped on the outer shell breaks and compacts allowing the screw to strike the initiator, detonating the mine.
The design is extremely simple and cost effective to produce, requiring only the simplest 3D printer, a screw and an initiator and explosive.
The first sighting of the mines I’ve been able to find was in a telegram post by a Russian sapper. In the post, on 6 October, he shared several photos of the mines found in the field and warned that Ukrainian drones are dropping them in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Another photo of one of the mines was shared by another Russian combatant on 8 October.
A Russian telegram channel, enginner25, shared post showing multiple images of the mines and a video showing the internals.
3D printed mine opened to show explosive filling (via social media)
In another photo we can see that the mines are apparently dropped from plastic tubes suspended below drones. The photo only shows the top of the tube but it’s clear that a number of tubes are carrying a significant number of mines. The release mechanism for the lids of the carrier tubes appears to use something like 3mm Visco fuze, commonly used with fireworks, or igniter cord. Once initiated the fuze/cord burns away and releases the mines with the drone scattering them as it flies over an area.
The design of the mine is extremely simple but appears to be potentially quite effective, relying on the brittleness of the 3D printed shell to work. The mines seem to have been engineered to be quickly produced at scale rather than to make them undetectable to Russian sappers. However, if a non-metallic striker replaced the screw the mines would be even more difficult to detect.
Assorted 3D printed mines (via social media)
While not the first 3D printed explosive device to emerge from the fighting in Ukraine, this mine is certainly one of the smallest and simplest. How widespread their deployment is, is still unclear but they seem they would be a useful part of Ukraine’s drone-deployed mine interdiction efforts behind Russian lines.
Thank you to Roy for drawing my attention to these mines.
Update 22/12/24: A new Russian video showing the internals of the mine and giving a better look at the percussion initiator (source).
Update 5/7/25: A Ukrainian video showing the testing of a 3D printed mine.
The Armourers Bench 