Ukraine downs Shahed with .50‑cal weapon

A Ukrainian mobile fire team shot down a Russian Shahed attack drone with an M2 Browning.50-caliber machine gun in footage published on April 26. (censor.net) The video shows the gunner tracking the drone at close range and hitting it with bursts from the heavy machine gun until it falls burning. (censor.net) (youtube.com) Censor.NET said the soldier was part of a mobile fire group, the truck-borne teams Ukraine uses to hunt low-flying drones during night attacks. (censor.net) A Shahed is a propeller-driven loitering munition, a one-way drone packed with explosives and flown into a target. Ukraine usually counters them with mobile guns, electronic jamming, anti-aircraft cannon and missiles. (janes.com) (isis-online.org) The tactic matters because Russia is still sending Shahed-type drones in large numbers. Ukraine’s Air Force said Russia launched 94 drones overnight into April 27, and air defenses downed or suppressed 74. (pravda.com.ua) The night before that was heavier. Ukrainian officials said Russia launched 144 strike drones overnight into April 26, with 124 intercepted or suppressed and 19 hitting 11 locations. (english.nv.ua) Ukraine has been expanding lower-cost ways to kill Shaheds instead of relying only on guided missiles. Sweden said this month it would fund Tridon Mk2 air-defense systems for Ukraine, and Kyiv also simplified aircraft upgrades aimed at countering Shahed-type drones. (pravda.com.ua 1) (pravda.com.ua 2) Ukraine is also testing newer layers. Last week, officials said a 412th Nemesis Brigade interceptor drone launched from an unmanned surface vessel destroyed a Shahed over the Black Sea. (breakingdefense.com) The M2 Browning first entered U.S. service a century ago, but the April 26 video showed why Ukraine still keeps heavy guns on the drone hunt: they are already in the field, and they can still hit a slow target. (censor.net) (janes.com)