U.S. Air Force Reveals Advanced Counter-Drone Weapons to Defend Bases from Growing Drone Threats
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The U.S. Air Force’s 325th Security Forces Squadron (SFS) has demonstrated new kinetic counter-drone capabilities at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, as the Pentagon accelerates efforts to defend military installations against the rapidly growing threat posed by small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). During a June 3 demonstration for Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman, commander of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), defenders showcased specialized weapons and advanced fire-control technology designed to shoot down hostile drones before they can threaten aircraft, personnel, or critical infrastructure.
The demonstration reflects a broader shift underway across the U.S. Air Force as military planners adapt to lessons emerging from Ukraine, the Middle East, and other recent conflicts where inexpensive drones have repeatedly challenged conventional military defenses. What was once viewed as a niche threat has evolved into one of the Pentagon’s most urgent force-protection concerns, particularly for air bases hosting high-value assets such as F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft.Related Topic: Europe Strengthens Counter-Drone Defenses With Airbus-Alta Ares AI Interceptors After Ukraine Lessons
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rhoades of the 325th Security Forces Squadron demonstrates an M870 shotgun during a counter-drone training event at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, on June 3, 2026, as Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman and Senior Master Sgt. Reginald Walters observe. The demonstration highlighted the U.S. Air Force’s expanding kinetic capabilities to defeat small unmanned aircraft system threats and strengthen installation defense. (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)
At the center of the new capability is a combination of the Remington M870 shotgun and the SMASH 2000 fire-control system mounted on an M4A1 carbine. The 325th SFS demonstrated both systems to AFIMSC leadership while outlining plans to qualify approximately 210 Airmen in counter-sUAS operations. Once fielded across the squadron, the program will provide the installation with a distributed drone-defense network capable of rapidly engaging low-altitude aerial threats.
The M870 shotgun may appear to be a simple solution, but combat experience from Ukraine has elevated the weapon into an increasingly important counter-drone tool. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used shotguns extensively against first-person-view attack drones and reconnaissance quadcopters operating at short ranges. Unlike expensive missile interceptors, shotguns provide a low-cost method of defeating small aerial targets that may cost only hundreds of dollars but threaten military assets worth millions.
The second component of the capability is significantly more advanced. Developed by Israel’s Smart Shooter, the SMASH 2000 is an electro-optical fire-control system that transforms a standard M4A1 carbine into a precision anti-drone weapon. Using artificial intelligence-assisted target tracking, ballistic computation, and computerized fire control, the system continuously follows a moving target and only releases a shot when the probability of a successful hit is maximized.
The technology directly addresses one of the biggest challenges facing counter-drone operators: hitting a fast-moving and maneuvering aerial target with a conventional rifle. During engagement drills, operators identify and lock onto a drone while maintaining pressure on the trigger. The SMASH 2000 then calculates the firing solution and automatically releases the shot at the precise moment required for interception, dramatically increasing first-round hit probability.
The growing emphasis on kinetic counter-drone capabilities follows a series of drone attacks and incursions that have reshaped military thinking worldwide. In Ukraine, thousands of drones are employed every month for surveillance, strike missions, target acquisition, and electronic warfare. In the Middle East, Iranian-backed groups have repeatedly used one-way attack drones against military facilities and strategic infrastructure. Similar threats have emerged around military installations across multiple regions, exposing vulnerabilities in traditional force-protection architectures.
For the U.S. Air Force, the challenge is particularly acute. Modern air bases concentrate high-value assets including stealth fighters, airborne command-and-control aircraft, fuel storage facilities, munitions depots, and communications infrastructure. A relatively inexpensive drone can potentially conduct surveillance, direct attacks, or disrupt operations at a fraction of the cost of conventional weapons systems.
The response emerging at Tyndall reflects a larger Pentagon effort to push counter-drone capabilities down to the tactical level. Rather than relying exclusively on specialized air-defense units, the U.S. Air Force is increasingly equipping ordinary security forces personnel with the tools and training necessary to detect, track, and defeat aerial threats. According to Senior Master Sgt. Reginald Walters, the objective is to certify all defenders so that every patrol can become an active element of the installation’s air-defense network.
Under the planned program, participating Airmen will already be qualified on the M870 shotgun and M4A1 carbine before entering drone-specific training. The curriculum will focus entirely on engaging aerial targets under realistic operational conditions while complying with Title 10 U.S. Code Section 130i, which authorizes military installations to mitigate unmanned aircraft threats.
The initiative demonstrates how rapidly the U.S. Air Force is adapting to a battlefield revolution driven by unmanned systems. For decades, base defense focused primarily on ground attacks, sabotage, rockets, and conventional aircraft threats. Today, military planners increasingly view the airspace immediately above installations as a contested environment requiring dedicated defenses against small, inexpensive, and highly proliferated drones.
As drone technology continues to evolve, programs such as the one being developed by the 325th SFS may become standard across U.S. Air Force installations worldwide. The demonstration at Tyndall therefore represents more than a local training initiative; it offers a glimpse into how the Pentagon is reshaping force protection doctrine for an era in which the next threat to a military base may arrive not as a fighter aircraft or missile, but as a small drone costing only a few hundred dollars.
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• Land Defense News• Naval Defense News• Defense Aerospace NewsWritten by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition GroupAlain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years of experience in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis of military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
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The U.S. Air Force’s 325th Security Forces Squadron (SFS) has demonstrated new kinetic counter-drone capabilities at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, as the Pentagon accelerates efforts to defend military installations against the rapidly growing threat posed by small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). During a June 3 demonstration for Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman, commander of the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center (AFIMSC), defenders showcased specialized weapons and advanced fire-control technology designed to shoot down hostile drones before they can threaten aircraft, personnel, or critical infrastructure.
The demonstration reflects a broader shift underway across the U.S. Air Force as military planners adapt to lessons emerging from Ukraine, the Middle East, and other recent conflicts where inexpensive drones have repeatedly challenged conventional military defenses. What was once viewed as a niche threat has evolved into one of the Pentagon’s most urgent force-protection concerns, particularly for air bases hosting high-value assets such as F-35A Lightning II fighter aircraft.
Related Topic: Europe Strengthens Counter-Drone Defenses With Airbus-Alta Ares AI Interceptors After Ukraine Lessons
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Nicholas Rhoades of the 325th Security Forces Squadron demonstrates an M870 shotgun during a counter-drone training event at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, on June 3, 2026, as Maj. Gen. Thomas P. Sherman and Senior Master Sgt. Reginald Walters observe. The demonstration highlighted the U.S. Air Force’s expanding kinetic capabilities to defeat small unmanned aircraft system threats and strengthen installation defense. (Picture source: U.S. Air Force)
At the center of the new capability is a combination of the Remington M870 shotgun and the SMASH 2000 fire-control system mounted on an M4A1 carbine. The 325th SFS demonstrated both systems to AFIMSC leadership while outlining plans to qualify approximately 210 Airmen in counter-sUAS operations. Once fielded across the squadron, the program will provide the installation with a distributed drone-defense network capable of rapidly engaging low-altitude aerial threats.
The M870 shotgun may appear to be a simple solution, but combat experience from Ukraine has elevated the weapon into an increasingly important counter-drone tool. Both Ukrainian and Russian forces have used shotguns extensively against first-person-view attack drones and reconnaissance quadcopters operating at short ranges. Unlike expensive missile interceptors, shotguns provide a low-cost method of defeating small aerial targets that may cost only hundreds of dollars but threaten military assets worth millions.
The second component of the capability is significantly more advanced. Developed by Israel’s Smart Shooter, the SMASH 2000 is an electro-optical fire-control system that transforms a standard M4A1 carbine into a precision anti-drone weapon. Using artificial intelligence-assisted target tracking, ballistic computation, and computerized fire control, the system continuously follows a moving target and only releases a shot when the probability of a successful hit is maximized.
The technology directly addresses one of the biggest challenges facing counter-drone operators: hitting a fast-moving and maneuvering aerial target with a conventional rifle. During engagement drills, operators identify and lock onto a drone while maintaining pressure on the trigger. The SMASH 2000 then calculates the firing solution and automatically releases the shot at the precise moment required for interception, dramatically increasing first-round hit probability.
The growing emphasis on kinetic counter-drone capabilities follows a series of drone attacks and incursions that have reshaped military thinking worldwide. In Ukraine, thousands of drones are employed every month for surveillance, strike missions, target acquisition, and electronic warfare. In the Middle East, Iranian-backed groups have repeatedly used one-way attack drones against military facilities and strategic infrastructure. Similar threats have emerged around military installations across multiple regions, exposing vulnerabilities in traditional force-protection architectures.
For the U.S. Air Force, the challenge is particularly acute. Modern air bases concentrate high-value assets including stealth fighters, airborne command-and-control aircraft, fuel storage facilities, munitions depots, and communications infrastructure. A relatively inexpensive drone can potentially conduct surveillance, direct attacks, or disrupt operations at a fraction of the cost of conventional weapons systems.
The response emerging at Tyndall reflects a larger Pentagon effort to push counter-drone capabilities down to the tactical level. Rather than relying exclusively on specialized air-defense units, the U.S. Air Force is increasingly equipping ordinary security forces personnel with the tools and training necessary to detect, track, and defeat aerial threats. According to Senior Master Sgt. Reginald Walters, the objective is to certify all defenders so that every patrol can become an active element of the installation’s air-defense network.
Under the planned program, participating Airmen will already be qualified on the M870 shotgun and M4A1 carbine before entering drone-specific training. The curriculum will focus entirely on engaging aerial targets under realistic operational conditions while complying with Title 10 U.S. Code Section 130i, which authorizes military installations to mitigate unmanned aircraft threats.
The initiative demonstrates how rapidly the U.S. Air Force is adapting to a battlefield revolution driven by unmanned systems. For decades, base defense focused primarily on ground attacks, sabotage, rockets, and conventional aircraft threats. Today, military planners increasingly view the airspace immediately above installations as a contested environment requiring dedicated defenses against small, inexpensive, and highly proliferated drones.
As drone technology continues to evolve, programs such as the one being developed by the 325th SFS may become standard across U.S. Air Force installations worldwide. The demonstration at Tyndall therefore represents more than a local training initiative; it offers a glimpse into how the Pentagon is reshaping force protection doctrine for an era in which the next threat to a military base may arrive not as a fighter aircraft or missile, but as a small drone costing only a few hundred dollars.
Explore More Defense News
• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News
Written by Alain Servaes – Chief Editor, Army Recognition Group
Alain Servaes is a former infantry non-commissioned officer and the founder of Army Recognition. With over 20 years of experience in defense journalism, he provides expert analysis of military equipment, NATO operations, and the global defense industry.
