China reveals the world’s first anti-drone barrage weapon to resist drone swarms and missile wars
New protection swarms and bullet-proof weapons systems have been developed to neutralize a wide range of low-altitude flight threats, including rockets, helicopters, missiles, and, most notably, drone swarms.
What sets it apart is its 16-barrel gun, which not only fires bullets, but also fires what chief designer Yu Bin calls a “barrage”, a projectile wall that can cover the entire target area.
“This kind of barrage can cover the upcoming position of all targets, effectively intercepting the concept of ‘aircraft pointing’,” Yu explained in an interview with Modern Weapons magazine.
Get rid of convention
Conventional anti-air systems usually rely on “point-to-point” interception, directly targeting incoming threats. But China’s new concept has changed the game.
By allowing multiple guns to fire together, the system creates a fire plane, increasing the possibility of intercepting fast, unpredictable targets. It’s essentially, aiming the needle at a thread and throwing the net between the sky. “This close-range air defense system is the first in the world, Yu said, which is Yu’s latest design, which constitutes a flood of air in the range such as the neutral range, making it flooded.
Build for the battlefield of the future
The prototype is shown in the form of a modern weapon, with 16 tightly gathered barrels and “unique ammunition”.
The system has fast reloading speed, high fire density and controllable barrage size. According to Yu, its destructive power matches its mobility. The system is modular, meaning it can be mounted on trucks, tracks or wheel armored vehicles or even warships.
“The air defense weapons currently available have shortcomings in resisting drone swarms. They lack the ability to deal with saturated attacks and suffer from low cost efficiency. However, new equipment does not have these shortcomings,” Yu said.
In field trials, a barrage was reportedly able to remove all small drones, similar to fast moving targets such as missiles, rockets, mortar shells and howitzer fires.
High-tech labor costs
The broader context of this rapid military innovation lies in the strategic tensions in the Taiwan Strait.
The United States and Taiwan have begun to deploy long-term drones such as the MQ-4C Triton and MQ-9B harvesters. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has ordered the production of 3,500 units at home and plans to establish drone testing facilities in Chiayi County to accelerate its drone supply chain.
Taiwan’s defense plan puts drones at the center of its asymmetric strategy. Larger drones will be used for surveillance and command support, while medium-range and smaller drones will engage in electronic warfare, sensor interference, and real-time strikes against enemy forces during beach landing operations.
China’s ammunition weapons seem tailor-made to deal with this ever-evolving threat matrix.
The global market for drone killers?
Chinese military analyst Fu Qianshao told the Global Times that the new system not only has “good prospects” and is not only used for domestic purposes, but also has exported products.
He called this both cost-effective and efficient, noting that global battlefields are increasingly affected by drone threats, which are cheap, mobile and often difficult to detect.
“The ammunition weapon system not only attracts domestic users, but can also be placed in the international market, as the battlefield faces an increasing threat from unmanned institutions,” Fu said.
The new ammunition weapon, with its dense firepower, mobile deployment options and range interception capabilities, reflects a deeper shift in the nation’s preparation for future wars.
It’s no longer just a faster jet or a smarter missile. It’s about flooding the sky with cheap drones and figuring out how to knock them all out before reaching your goal.
In that game, China had just fired one of the first serious Salvos.
