Front edge smoothbore: shotguns for use in air defense
Attack FPV UAVs have become the main problem of the Russian troops and one of the main problems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In the photo - Russian-made Ghoul UAV
Mass distribution of the so-called. FPV-drones (FPV-UAV) led to a request from troops for a means to defeat them.
Facilities EW, as has been predicted many times, have limited effectiveness, which has resulted in an urgent need for a smoothbore weapons - shotguns.
There is nothing special about the use of smoothbore weapons by troops; even during the Vietnam War, the US Armed Forces used such weapons even in battle, and even now they are widely used as special equipment.
The Russian Armed Forces have an extremely pressing issue of protecting troops from small attack FPV-UAVs. An average shooter can actually shoot down a flying small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a shotgun.
American soldiers train to use shotguns, in this case a Mossberg 590A1
Practice shows that despite the limited capabilities of smooth-bore weapons, they provide some protection against UAVs at low altitudes (exactly where FPVs fly), and therefore it makes sense to draw up a number of recommendations for the selection and use of these weapons that could be useful in the troops.
This article should not be understood as an advertisement for shotguns as a universal means against small UAVs, this is not true, the main pressure is needed in another direction, but shotguns are suitable as a means of last chance.
An example of shooting from a smoothbore gun at an FPV-UAV on video here:.
This issue was previously raised in "Military Review" in the article by Andrey Mitrofanov “50 shotguns per year for the Russian Army. Why the problem of FPV kamikaze drones needs to be solved now".
Now it is necessary to bring the issue down to earth, completely analyzing it from a technical point of view and partly from an organizational one.
First the technical part.
Ammunition
Due to the small size and high speed of the target, it is almost impossible to hit it with a bullet; ammunition with dispersion of damaging elements is required. Buckshot has too large striking elements (buckshots, of which there are too few in the cartridge), so the cartridge must be shot.
Small shot may not destroy the FPV, but large shot has the same problem as buckshot; there are few large shot in the cartridge, so you should try to use cartridges with shot 2–5 (shot diameter 3–3,75). This doesn't mean others aren't suitable, just that the range of numbers listed is likely to be the best.
By caliber - the best option is 12 gauge (18,5 mm). Such cartridges have maximum lethality and contain more pellets than all others.
Weapon Selection
Since the Ministry of Defense almost never supplies smoothbore guns to the army (there was information about a large one-time purchase and that’s it), and guns are purchased either by the fighters themselves or with the help of sponsors, the buyer has the opportunity to make a choice. Accordingly, recommendations for selecting a smoothbore gun make sense.
Let's determine the contours of the optimal gun for protection against FPV-UAVs.
By barrel type.
There are both cylindrical barrels and barrels with choke constrictions. The issue of choke constrictions is discussed in detail in the article “Choke constrictions (choke, pay, paradox, etc.)”, the following is clear from it.
As the muzzle narrowing increases, the accuracy of shooting using shot and buckshot increases.
Illustration of the increase in accuracy with increasing choke constriction. It must be remembered that after a certain point the applicability of certain shot sizes decreases
This suggests that shotguns with cylindrical barrels are less suitable for FPV protection than those with choke tubes.
The muzzle constriction should not be too large, as the efficiency of shooting large shot will deteriorate.
The best choice for shooting at UAVs is the “choke” muzzle constriction.
If a unit has a gun with a cylindrical barrel at its disposal, then, if possible, it must be equipped with a choke attachment.
Important! According to Russian legislation, this action is prohibited, the State Duma the latest amendments to the law on weapons prohibited citizens from carrying out such modifications themselves, therefore, in the rear, the gun that ends up in the fighter’s possession must be hidden. The chances that a modified gun will cause problems with the law are minimal, but it is better to worry about this in advance.
Along the length of the trunk.
For shooting at small air targets, a long barrel is better suited. The shorter the barrel length, the lower the accuracy, the greater the scattering of the shot. However, the longer the barrel, the harder the gun is to turn, the less maneuverable it is, and the harder it is physically to carry. However, when repelling an FPV strike in an open area, the probability of hitting the target will be critical, and therefore you need to take the longest possible barrel, 710–750 mm, depending on the model of the gun.
We can also talk about the minimum length: 610–660 mm is the minimum. With a shorter barrel length, the accuracy of shot fire will be unsatisfactory, however, short barrels are cylindrical.
The question of which barrel length is preferable in street fighting, for example from behind buildings, and in other cramped conditions, requires additional experimental verification.
Along the length of the chamber.
Based on the length of the chamber, you definitely need to choose 76 mm, since it can also fire shorter cartridges, but the opposite is not true. But if only guns with 70mm chambers are available, then this is perfectly acceptable.
By sighting devices.
The database includes guns with a conventional open sight (front and rear sight) or a front sight and a rib.
Shotguns with long barrels and choke always have a front sight and rib. It should be recognized that this is exactly what is optimal for shooting at air targets.
The question of using various types of collimator sights on UAVs requires a separate study; if when firing from a machine gun, the collimator immediately increases the shooting accuracy by at least a third, then with smooth-bore weapons and the need to shoot offhand at a short distance, there is no such clarity.
Night sights are definitely needed for protection against UAVs at night, but equipping guns with them also requires special modifications in the workshop, which most often will not be possible.
By type of store.
Shotguns with both tubular under-barrel and detachable box magazines are available for sale.
Shotguns with detachable magazines (Saiga, Vepr) have a short cylindrical barrel, and therefore cannot be selected.
Nevertheless, we need to clarify the issue with the store in more detail.
The tubular magazine has two properties that make it superior to the detachable box magazine.
First, the tubular magazine makes it possible to add cartridges to it between shots.
Secondly, it cannot be lost.
Box magazines for 12-gauge shotguns are very large, bulky, and require large pouches for carrying.
It is impossible to “throw” a cartridge into a box magazine.
The video below shows high-speed charging/recharging of a tubular magazine.
From experience, a good shooter spends 1–3 rounds on an FPV UAV.
The standard capacity of a tubular magazine is 4 rounds; in addition, the design of any gun allows it to be loaded according to the scheme: 1 in the chamber +4 in the magazine.
This means that even with a standard gun, the magazine capacity allows you to shoot down on average two UAVs without reloading.
This store capacity can be considered minimally sufficient. Since reloading a gun with a tubular magazine during shooting is faster than changing the magazine of a gun with a box magazine, you need to choose a tubular magazine.
A Russian Vepr-12K smoothbore carbine is carried by a member of a French police unit. The dimensions of the 8-round magazine and how it holds cartridges are visible. This is not the best option in the field.
According to the recharging method.
Among the shotguns with a tubular magazine you can find both semi-automatic shotguns and shotguns with manual reloading, the so-called. "pump action"
The latter are distinguished by their lighter weight than semi-automatic weapons and their insensitivity to the type of cartridge - a misfired cartridge is ejected instantly by the movement of the fore-end.
However, the disadvantage of the “pump” is the requirements for the shooter - it takes longer to train him to use the “pump”.
Therefore, you should choose a semi-automatic machine, leaving the “pumps” to those professionals who, by their training, are able to reveal their potential.
By butt type.
The type of stock matters much more than you might think - a shooter with a classic stock with a classic stock will be ready to shoot a little faster than a shooter with a pistol grip and a folding stock.
The advantages of a pistol grip in the form of a faster transition to shooting from the other shoulder in the fight against UAVs are not particularly important, and an average shooter cannot realize them.
Thus, our gun is a long-barreled 12-gauge semi-automatic with a tubular magazine, a “choke” narrowing of the barrel, a 76-mm chamber, an aiming rib and a classic butt without a pistol grip. Of the modifications for such a gun, only mounts for an optical (night) sight and a magazine extension for 1 cartridge make sense.
Such a gun is less familiar to fighters than the AK-like “Saiga” and “Vepri”, and you will have to specially retrain for it, but it is more effective, and much more so.
Shooter training
A shooter can acquire basic skills in shooting a gun at a moving target by shooting at clay pigeons, however, to develop all the necessary shooting techniques, one should also shoot at “training” (not carrying a combat charge) FPV-UAVs, aimed both at the shooter himself and at another goal.
Naturally, for a unit that received smoothbore rifles already at the front line, all this will be inaccessible.
Therefore, the minimum training should include well-thought-out written instructions and, if phones, tablets or computers are available, instructional videos.
Organizational part.
It is necessary that in any unit operating in open areas there should be approximately one trained shooter with a smooth-bore weapon for every four soldiers performing other tasks.
Such a shooter in an offensive must carry ammunition at the rate of twenty rounds for each person in the protected group of the unit.
A Russian soldier with a Vepr-12 smoothbore carbine in the Northern Military District zone
For example, an assault group based on half a platoon of two reduced strength squads of 5 people each, a commander and a couple of fighters subordinate directly to him, a total of 13 people, must have at least 3 fighters with a “smooth bore”, who must have at least 260 rounds of ammunition between three people.
At the same time, you need to carefully weigh what kind of weapons these fighters will have to carry - heavy and large guns, if along with them you also carry standard machine guns and interchangeable magazines for them, but the fighter can be very significantly loaded.
On the other hand, smooth-bore rifles are almost unusable in battle against enemy infantry, and if a fighter with a “smooth” finds himself against an enemy infantryman with a machine gun, he is most likely doomed.
To determine the optimal composition of weapons for a fighter with a smooth-bore weapon, experimental exercises are needed. Foreign experience will not help here; in the USA, for example, close combat practices deny the very possibility of using soldiers with smooth-bore weapons in battle, but for example, in the British Armed Forces such things are done, including in a combat situation.
In addition, foreign forces did not have to act against the FPV. We will have to work out everything ourselves.
Fighters need means for carrying 12-gauge cartridges that allow them to quickly reload the gun when firing, in between shots, and that do not interfere with crawling; damage to the cartridges when stowed when crawling must be prevented, and fighters must remember that 12-gauge cartridges caliber are very vulnerable to mechanical impact.
An example of a pouch for a machine gun magazine and 12-gauge cartridges with MOLLE suspension. The plus is the ability to quickly snatch the cartridges, the minus is the vulnerability of the cartridges when crawling and falling to the ground.
Pouches for 12 gauge cartridges. The cartridges protect well, but it is more difficult to quickly grab a cartridge for reloading.
It is impossible to combine the position of a shooter with a smooth-bore weapon and an operator of portable RTR and REP devices designed for early detection of UAVs and suppression of radio channels for their control and broadcast of television images.
Challenge for the near future
Two guns are produced in Russia that are suitable for protection against FPV-UAVs with virtually no modifications; we are talking about the MP-155 and Bekas-12M Auto guns. The Department of Defense should accept these guns into service with long barrels, and also obtain permission to purchase their foreign counterparts. Also, a shot cartridge for a smoothbore shotgun of 18,5 mm caliber should be adopted.
Shotgun MP-155 Izhevsk Mechanical Plant
Shotgun "Bekas"-12M from the Molot automobile plant
Immediately after this, such weapons should begin to be purchased for the troops at the rate of no less than 3 rifles for each platoon deployed on the line of combat contact, with the prospect of reaching three rifles for any fighting platoon, and then one per artillery calculation.
Perhaps the Ministry of Defense could take the example of the Russian Guard, where in service consists of the SSK-18,5 rifle complex consisting of a smooth-bore carbine KS-P (military shotgun MP-153 with an extended magazine and a folding butt) and a smooth-bore carbine KS-K (military "Saiga-12K"), both caliber 18,5 mm (12 gauge). This, however, is not what is needed.
Among soldiers, you can find opinions that shotguns are becoming more important than machine guns, since you still have to somehow survive before meeting the enemy in close combat, and FPV-UAVs are here.
This is not entirely true, but it is obvious that the saturation of units on the front line with smooth-bore weapons needs to be sharply increased. For now, the Ministry of Defense is still just moving forward in this direction, which means private sponsors and volunteers will have to deal with the guns. Fortunately, the Ministry of Defense has developed mechanisms for supplying shotguns from individuals and charitable organizations to military units. I hope this article will be useful for those who are already organizing these deliveries.
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