The Army wants to use bullets, mortars, and artillery to take out small drones
How existing systems are being shaped to shoot at tiny targets.
Meghann Myers | March 26, 2026
Army Drones
HUNTSVILLE, Alabama—Army leaders often say they want to stop using million-dollar missiles to shoot down thousand-dollar drones. One of the solutions may be cheap munitions the service already has.
While the Army is leading an interagency task force to source dedicated counter-drone systems, the Capability Program Executive for ammunition and energetics is taking a look at the Army’s existing rounds to make them capable of shooting down much smaller targets.
“We all know how important missiles are to the fight. We see it in the news. But there's also a point where missiles can't get after every munition, every threat, so we need to supplement that with something that we already have within our formations,” Kaitlyn Tani, deputy project manager at Maneuver Ammunition systems, said Wednesday at the AUSA Global Force Symposium.
There has already been demonstrated success in using bullets against drones, she said, particularly ones like the XM121 High Explosive Proximity round, a 30mm bullet that only needs to get near a target to take it out with its blast radius.
https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2026/03/army-wants-use-bullets-mortars-and-artillery-rounds-take-out-small-drones/412392/?oref=d1-skybox-hp
