Counter-drone defence with standard weapons: SwissP Defence unveils Shatter4K ammunition

SwissP Defence presented newly developed counter-drone ammunition at Enforce Tac 2026 in Nuremberg. Shatter4K is intended in particular for use against small and medium-sized unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The company developed and tested the solution at its headquarters in Thun, Switzerland.

According to SwissP Defence, Shatter4K can be fired from standard assault rifles and machine guns without any changes to the weapons themselves. The ammunition is currently available in two NATO standard calibres: 5.56 x 45 and 7.62 x 51.

Multiple projectile for counter-drone defence

The design is based on the multiple-projectile principle. As soon as the bullet leaves the muzzle, four effectors separate and fly towards the target slightly offset along the line of fire. This considerably increases the probability of a hit against agile aerial targets.

According to a recent press release, a key aim of the development programme was to deliberately limit the effective range and thus keep collateral damage as low as possible. Despite this limitation, a carefully balanced combination of projectile mass, shape and material delivers enough kinetic energy to the target to hit and damage critical drone components – such as rotor blades, motors, electronics or batteries.

Current conflicts impressively demonstrate that drones have become one of the main threats on the modern battlefield— CEO of SwissP Defence

With Shatter4K, we deliberately opted for a pragmatic, soldier-oriented approach. Our ammunition is fully compatible with existing weapon systems, requires no modifications to the weapon in the field, does not damage the barrel, unlike comparable solutions on the market, reduces the risk of accidental damage and increases the hit probability. This reflects our philosophy of offering effective solutions instead of experimental concepts.— CEO of SwissP Defence

The development team sees the controlled dispersion of the sub-projectiles not as a compromise but as a deliberate design feature. SwissP Defence's head of development made this clear:

Our goal was not maximum precision in the classic sense— Head of development at SwissP Defence

We aimed for what we call 'precise imprecision'. We wanted to achieve a predictable and reproducible dispersion of the ammunition in order to increase the hit probability against fast-moving targets such as drones, while ensuring the smallest and most predictable ballistic footprint possible.— Head of development at SwissP Defence