.50-caliber weapons and automatic shotguns offer economical answers to small drones that do not justify an expensive missile. The examples emphasize cost exchange as much as technical effectiveness: inexpensive ammunition can preserve scarce high-end interceptors for harder targets. Automatic shotguns are especially practical at very short range against the smallest systems. Layered air defense works best when weapon choice reflects target value, range, and difficulty instead of using the most sophisticated interceptor every time.
Notable Point · 13:22-14:59
Cheap guns and shotguns against small drones
Ukraine's use of heavy machine guns and automatic shotguns illustrates the value of matching a cheap defensive weapon to a cheap, low-flying drone.