The Ministry of Defence (MoD) of Ukraine has committed to producing up to 400,000 rounds of ammunition to bring down uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs).
The current rate of production of these anti-drone rounds is not known but the small arms ammunition, named ‘Horoshok’ rounds – which come in two calibres: 5.56×45 mm and 5.45×39 mm – can be fired from standard service rifles.
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Such rounds, the MoD stated, can engage enemy drones at distances of up to 50 and 60 metres, respectively.
The “specialised projectile” enhances the probability of a successful hit, and crucially, the rounds can be loaded into the standard magazine, enabling immediate engagement of enemy drones.
Meeting the UAV threat with rifles
Due to the modernisation of the Ukrainian military, however, there are numerous rifle types, although generally the government aim to transition from legacy weapons such as the AK-74 toward Nato standard weapons like the AR-15 and Czech Bren 2.
Even this transition is made more complicated by the fact that in 2024, the Ministry of Defence codified and adopted approximately 30 new models of small arms.
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By GlobalDataStill, it is believed that Western-made assault rifles – using 5.56x45mm Nato rounds – deliver higher bullet energy than the Soviet 5.45x39mm small arms ammunition.
The persistent threat of UAVs in a land-based, attritional war has seen both sides leverage whatever anti-drone methods they have immediately available. While some Russian mobile units are known to drive motorcycles to evade Ukrainian drones, the Ukrainian Army, likewise, must lean on standard issue rifles to protect against the whirring threat.
The global missile defence industry, within which GlobalData intelligence places Europe as the leading geographic segment, is beginning to confront the UAV peril. An Estonian missile maker, Frankenburg, for example, is developing a relatively low cost ($50,000 per unit compared to a $500m Stinger missile) short range missile interceptor humbly named ‘Mark I’.
Russian UAVs
The Ukrainian MoD states that the boost in anti-drone Horoshok ammunition is intended to meet the threat of two types of Russian-operated drones, First-Person View (FPV) and Mavic-class systems.
FPV systems are said to be the most common drone in the war. It is a system comprising a quadcopter drone, a remote control station and an operator with special goggles.
These small, remotely controlled UAVs are always evolving, with the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noting on 9 October that Russian developers introduced fibre-optic FPV UAVs that make these systems resistant to jamming.
According to the Washington open source intelligence platform, these new systems can function as “repeater drones” relaying data to mission drones, strike or reconnaissance UAVs, extending Russian tactical drone ranges from around 15 to 60 kilometres.
Likewise, Mavic-class drones are dual-use, foldable quadcopter UAVs produced by the Chinese company, DJI. The ISW also reported their use to target Ukrainian infantry on the ground.
These combined UAV tactics, which also leverage electronic warfare systems for jamming, demonstrate the mass effect and layered assault methods of the Russian military.
