Rostec details Igla shotgun cartridge for anti-drone fight
Rostec has presented the Igla shotgun cartridge family, which is designed specifically to shoot down small drones, at the MILEX-2025 exhibition in Minsk, Belarus. This development comes as the need for kinetic anti-drone capabilities in Ukraine and around the world accelerates.
According to a 21st May press release, the Igla family includes four different cartridges: the Igla 100, Tracer 75, Igla 50, and Igla 30, with the numbers indicating the effective range of the cartridges against small drones and FPVs. All of the cartridges are for 12 gauge shotguns, but offered in the standard 12/70 calibre as well as the 12/76 – sometimes known as 12 gauge Magnum.
The 12/70 cartridges have a length of 70 mm, and the 12/76 a length of 76 mm, which affects the amount of shot the cartridges can carry as well as the amount of propellent and felt recoil. Generally speaking, a 12/76 shotgun will be able to fire more pellets that are heavier, and faster than a 12/70, which would have obvious benefits in the counter-drone fight by increasing the kinetic energy of the shot. To that end, the press release states that the flight speed of the shot is at least 435 metres per second, and that No. 0000-5 or 6.2-8.5 mm buckshot can be used.
The Igla 100 is stated to be loaded with pellets that are 1.5 times as dense as lead, which indicates that a tungsten pellet is used. Tungsten is much harder than lead, which means that it will penetrate a drone more effectively without deforming. As the name suggests, it is supposed to be able to defeat drones at ranges up to 100 m, and can penetrate two 1 mm thick aluminium sheets at that range, the press release states. It is worth noting that the AD-LER from Norma also used tungsten pellets, the company has concluded that modern FPV type drones are typically built from more resilient materials than smaller Mavic and Matrice drones.
The Igla Tracer 75 uses a red light element to trace the flight of the pellets from 20 m to 120 m, allowing the user to adjust their aim for subsequent shots. This can be useful in training, according to the press release, but would also be of use in real life engagements, it seems.
Internal cartridge design is important for controlling the exterior ballistics of shotgun ammunition. So, the Igla 50 through to the Igla 100 use containerised pellets, which are held in a cup within the cartridge. This helps to control the spread of the pellets, which is important when engaging small targets at long ranges. The Igla 30, however, does not use a container and is designed to create a large, dense spread of pellets for last minute engagements of drones at short range.
Calibre comment
Drone combat has evolved rapidly around the world with Ukraine at its core. Initial responses were relatively well-understood, having been proven in the Middle East for some time. Static and directional jammers operating over the typical small-drone bandwidths were sufficient to bring most drones in the Mavic class down. Larger systems like the Orlan-10 or equivalent would often warrant a more expensive interceptor because of the damage they could potentially cause. However, both sides in Ukraine have rapidly adapted their drones, using different antennas and software they are able to move between frequencies to render conventional jamming much less effective. Then, with the advent of the fibre optic FPV, jamming has reached the end of its utility. The drones cannot be jammed and so a physical response is essential. Shotguns provide a key line of defence for this, and are often used by units on both sides in Ukraine as they work to move between the frontline and their rest areas.
Counter-drone approaches differ around the world, with some forces seemingly betting on the efficacy of systems like the Smash fire control system from SmartShooter, which helps a soldier engage small targets by providing firing adjustments for an assault rifle. Regardless, it would appear that developing and at least testing shotgun capabilities is a sensible option for most forces. The Igla shotgun cartridge is just one development to come out of Russia in this regard, it remains to be seen whether or not it will be widely adopted in a centralised fashion by the Russian armed forces.
By Sam Cranny-Evans, published on 21st May, 2025.
Did you know that we have covered the evolution of small drones extensively on the Calibre Defence website? Have a look at these articles if you would like to read more:
Russian FPV drone tactics – Calibre Defence
Russia’s drone barriers aim to protect logistics routes
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