Test of New U.S. 5.56 mm Anti-Drone Round Creating Close-Range Fragment Cloud on FPV Drones..

The United States evaluated a new 5.56 millimeter multi-projectile cartridge designed to turn standard rifles into close-range anti-drone weapons. The concept aims to give infantry squads a cheap and fast way to disrupt FPV and quadcopter attacks that often slip past larger counter-UAS systems.

In November 2025, the United States tested a new 5.56×45 mm anti-drone cartridge that turns standard assault rifles into ad hoc air defense weapons against small unmanned aerial systems. The round, marketed as Drone Round by a U.S. industrial team linked to Unlimited Ammo, Freedom Munitions, and Ammo Load Worldwide, was evaluated in live fire trials filmed by the Administrative Results YouTube channel.
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The new 5.56 mm Drone Round transforms standard U.S. rifles into close-range anti-drone weapons, releasing multiple high-velocity projectiles in a controlled spread that can disable FPV and quadcopter UAVs at 15 to 50 meters without any modification to the gun (Picture source: Administrative Results).

Drone Round is a multi-projectile 5.56 mm cartridge that feeds and fires like NATO standard ammunition but is engineered to destabilize shortly after leaving the barrel. U.S. reporting indicates that an offset center of mass and modified jacket cause the projectile to lose gyroscopic stability roughly 10 to 15 meters from the muzzle, tumbling and shedding fragments into a dense cone of debris. This creates a shotgun-like cloud within the 15 to 50 meter envelope where FPV and quadcopter drones typically execute their terminal attack run.

The manufacturer advertises compatibility with both magazines and belt-fed systems and lists available calibers as 5.56×45, 7.62×51, and 6.8×51, targeting platforms from M4 and M16 family rifles to squad automatic weapons and future NGSW systems. The company also claims effectiveness against fiber optic guided FPV drones, fixed wing reconnaissance UAVs, and high speed quadcopters, positioning the round as a kinetic answer to unjammable or EW resistant threats that are increasingly shaping the battlefield in Ukraine and informing U.S. modernization priorities.

At platoon level, soldiers carry one or more designated anti-drone magazines alongside ball and tracer ammunition. On detecting a small UAS through sound or visual cue, the squad executes a rapid magazine change, then engages the approaching drone with short, controlled bursts as it closes inside 50 meters. The wider but predictable dispersion pattern increases hit probability against tiny rotor arms, cameras, antennas, and battery packs, any of which can cripple a drone, while the higher velocity compared to 12-gauge buckshot reduces the amount of lead the shooter must apply on a fast-moving target.

Ukrainian practice shows where this can lead. Kyiv’s Brave1 innovation program and partner firms have already fielded NATO-compatible 5.56 mm anti-drone rounds such as the Horoshok, which splits into multiple sub-projectiles traveling at over 800 meters per second and is reported to be effective out to roughly 50 meters. The Ministry of Defence of Ukraine has codified several such anti-drone cartridges, ramping up serial production so that each infantryman can eventually carry at least one dedicated anti-drone magazine as part of a standard combat load.

For U.S. and NATO planners, Drone Round sits neatly inside the layered counter-small UAS approach described in the Department of Defense Counter Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Strategy and reinforced in later guidance on countering unmanned systems. High-power microwave systems like Leonidas, laser weapons, and proximity-fuzed medium-caliber ammunition form outer rings, while rifle-based anti-drone rounds offer the last line of defense when an FPV breaks through and is seconds from impact on a vehicle or dugout. Congressional research on counter-drone efforts has explicitly highlighted the need to push affordable countermeasures down to brigade and below, where these cartridges naturally belong.

The logistics and safety picture also matters. Because the round operates like standard ammunition, units can integrate it without additional weapon platforms, optics, or training devices, simplifying supply and maintenance compared to issuing separate shotguns or specific anti-drone guns. Developers argue that the multi-projectile pattern sheds energy quickly, reducing the danger of long-range ricochets or rounds falling back into friendly areas when firing at steep angles, although any formal U.S. adoption would still require rigorous safety testing and legal review under the law of armed conflict.

As of late November 2025, Drone Round itself has not been announced as a U.S. program of record and remains a commercially led capability, whereas Ukrainian anti-drone rifle ammunition is confirmed to be in limited frontline service with production scaling up. The trajectory is clear, however. With analysts describing FPV and small drones as the dominant killers of modern infantry, Western armies are being pushed toward a future in which every rifle is also a point air defense system. Whether through Drone Round, Horoshok, or competing designs, multi-projectile 5.56 ammunition is rapidly emerging as the cheapest way for a squad to claw back a measure of control over the airspace just above its own trenches.