Recent advances have enabled the effective engagement and destruction of unmanned drones using existing weapons currently in service with armies.
In late May, at a firing range in Abu Dhabi, a French Army LeClerc main battle tank (MBT) from the 5th Cuirassier Regiment successfully shot down an unmanned aerial vehicle with its 120mm main gun. The tank crew used the MBT’s existing sights and fire controls but employed a specific type of ammunition, the OEFC F1, developed and manufactured by KNDS.
During the LeClerc firing exercise called “Tirs LAD XL,” crews demonstrated that an existing and available 120mm tank munition could effectively be used in a counter-drone role. The OEFC F1 was designed as a close-in anti-personnel round. It contains a canister that ruptures upon leaving the muzzle, releasing 1,100 tungsten-carbide pellets at approximately 1,410 m/s. The pellets disperse in a cone that widens as they travel downrange. In the anti-personnel role, the round has an effective range of five hundred metres. Against fixed-wing or quadcopter drones, the pellets proved capable of causing enough damage to structures and controls to bring drones down. During the exercise, crews successfully engaged drones flying erratically and approaching from different directions, achieving single-shot kills. The shotgun-like pattern of the round provides enough coverage to compensate for slight aiming and tracking errors while hitting multiple targets.
The limitations identified in the exercise included the difficulty and response time in detecting and acquiring small drones, the limited elevation of the main gun, which restricted close-in engagement, and the response time required to engage. Overall, the main gun counter-drone capability was seen as used both as a self-defence measure and as a target of opportunity, similar to its use against helicopter threats.
It is noteworthy that the “canister” antipersonnel tank round is in service with several world armies. The US military has the M1028 canister for the 120mm tank cannon, while Norway’s Nammo offers its 120mm Insensitive Munition (IM) Canister. There is also a canister round, the M1040, for the 105mm NATO tank gun. The French Tirs LAD XL exercise confirms with live firing data that canister is a viable option against drones. It offers a technically capable tool, but to be truly effective, tank crews must train and practise to gain proficiency.
by Stephen W. Miller
