Talyn
Emissary
As the war in Ukraine continues into its fourth year, one lesson stands out for militaries worldwide: even the simplest weapons can have a place on the modern battlefield.
Among them is the shotgun — a smoothbore firearm long dismissed as outdated, yet now proving its worth against one of the most difficult threats facing soldiers today: small, fast, and deadly FPV drones.
The lessons from Ukraine are not going unnoticed in Europe. Armed forces across the continent are beginning to experiment with similar approaches — and Italy is among the first to move beyond theory and into practice.
“The Italian Armed Forces are receiving the first Benelli M4 AI Drone Guards,” Angelelli explained. “As President of the FITAV Commission for Relations with the Armed Forces, we are proposing training protocols for military personnel and law enforcement. We have also established a C-UAS/FPV drone training school with shotguns at the ‘La Torre’ high-speed rail station in Pisa, Tuscany. As for other European armed forces, they too are equipping themselves with Benelli shotguns, and the Italian company, in addition to supplying shotguns, also offers training packages for counter-drone operators.”
defence-blog.com
Among them is the shotgun — a smoothbore firearm long dismissed as outdated, yet now proving its worth against one of the most difficult threats facing soldiers today: small, fast, and deadly FPV drones.
The lessons from Ukraine are not going unnoticed in Europe. Armed forces across the continent are beginning to experiment with similar approaches — and Italy is among the first to move beyond theory and into practice.
“The Italian Armed Forces are receiving the first Benelli M4 AI Drone Guards,” Angelelli explained. “As President of the FITAV Commission for Relations with the Armed Forces, we are proposing training protocols for military personnel and law enforcement. We have also established a C-UAS/FPV drone training school with shotguns at the ‘La Torre’ high-speed rail station in Pisa, Tuscany. As for other European armed forces, they too are equipping themselves with Benelli shotguns, and the Italian company, in addition to supplying shotguns, also offers training packages for counter-drone operators.”
Shotguns return to relevance in drone warfare
As the war in Ukraine continues into its fourth year, one lesson stands out for militaries worldwide: even the simplest weapons can have a place on the modern battlefield. Among them is the shotgun — a smoothbore firearm long dismissed as outdated, yet now proving its worth against one of the...