Monster from the other world. It uses a cannon from AH‑64 Apache

Drones in Ukraine are a significant threat, and combating them is not an easy task, especially in a cost-effective way. We explain how a solution from Australia works.

Drones have become a symbol of war in Ukraine, and not only military ones but also numerous commercial drones used in a proverbial million ways. These, similar to Iranian drones used to terrorize Ukrainian society, are very cheap and thus significantly more expensive than even handheld anti-aircraft systems like the FIM-92 Stinger or PPZR Piorun, not to mention more costly solutions like NASAMS.

For this reason, Ukrainians highly value Gepard barrel artillery systems or their spiritual successor, Skynex, but they have too few in relation to needs. For this reason, Ukrainians create improvised solutions or dedicated groups of soldiers trying to combat drones using a combination of firearms and searchers.

These methods are basically better than nothing, but they cannot compare with dedicated solutions, such as SMASH weapon modules from the Israeli company Smart Shooter or conceptually similar Slinger systems from the Australian company Electro Optic Systems (EOS). As reported by ABC News portal, Ukraine has decided to acquire 160 systems for 170 million dollars.

The Australian solution is based on the use of a M230LF chain-driven 30 mm caliber cannon with a rate of fire of 100/200 rounds/min, which is a derivative of the one used on AH-64 Apache helicopters. It is paired with an optoelectronic head containing a daytime camera, thermal imaging, and a laser rangefinder for measuring the distance to the target. All that the shooter has to do is to mark the target, and the target motion tracking algorithms and the ballistic computer do the rest.

The system allows for detecting targets at a distance of up to 12 km during the day and 13.7 km at night, and the effective range against even as small drones as DJI Phantom is 1 km (for larger constructions the range is greater). The entire system weighs 400 kg, which allows it to be mounted even on pick-ups or other armored vehicles for protection, for example, against Lancets.

For this reason, Slinger will be an ideal complement to the electronic warfare systems warning against drones that we saw during the MSPO 2023 fair. Thanks to this, an antidrone pick-up camouflaged in the vicinity, for instance, of the IRIS-T SLM system (there is a case of damage to the TRML-4D radar) can provide protection against the Lancet, which is resistant to the action of simple jammers operating on commercial drones.