US Army Tests Claymore Mine-Armed Drone
The US Army’s 173rd Airborne Brigade, known as the “Sky Soldiers,” has conducted what officials say is the first test in the United States of a first-person-view (FPV) drone shooting down another unmanned aerial vehicle.
Over the skies of Fort Rucker, history was made as the 173rd Airborne Brigade, Pennsylvania Army National Guard, and the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (DEVCOM AC) Project Shank executed the Army’s first-ever air-to-air kill with an armed first-person view (FPV) drone.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Nate Shea piloted the Skyraider, armed with a claymore mine, while Chief Warrant Officer 2 Andrew Topits maneuvered the opposing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) during a dogfight above Tabernacle Field.
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First developed in the 1950s, the M18 Claymore is a directional landmine designed to be emplaced on the ground and triggered by a tripwire or manual detonator.
Its curved plastic casing contains C-4 explosive and about 700 steel ball bearings, which are propelled in a 60-degree cone-shaped blast to an effective range of about 820 feet (250 meters).
Military analysts say the Claymore’s wide blast pattern makes it well-suited to engaging small, agile aerial targets.
Sources: DIVDS; Interesting Engineering
