The amazing people over at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey have shown of their new anti-drone cannon system. Not only did they show off this new little toy, but the team had a successful demonstration that took down two drones from a kilometer away.
This new system is part of the Army’s Enhanced Area Protection and Survivability (EAPS) Technology Objective that has been tested various systems for a number of years now. This new unit currently employs a pair of 50mm Bushmaster cannons mounted on a Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck (HEMTT).
It’s a fairly low tech approach to a high-tech problem we are beginning to face. These cannons are special as they can fire 10-round bursts of unpowered steel projectiles that have been wrapped in a tantalum-tungsten alloy. This allows these little buggers to tear to shreds incoming UAVs in addition to mortars and rockets.
While still in the prototype phase, this new system was successfully tested this August shooting down two Griffon Outlaw drones. What makes the system special is that these projectiles can be passively controlled in flight making them more accurate, while keeping the cost of internals down as the guidance is down on the ground instead of in the projectile itself.
Via: (Engadget)
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