Although not entirely new, it was developed for the civilian market, the Advanced Impact concept developed by Benelli, the small arms manufacturer specialises in shotguns part of the Beretta Defence Technologies group, strongly promoted its system at IDEX 2025. Carrying a shotgun within a firing team would allow infantrymen to be able to counter a UAS threat that escaped all other C-UAS systems, the Benelli M4 AI Drone Guardian providing this capability
Increasing range and lethality, these were the key elements to allow a shotgun to cope with the UAS threat. Of course, an individual weapon is the last resource, and finding the incoming threat in the 3D environment and having the cold blood to aim and shoot remain a key issue, however if this is accomplished, then having an effective tool in your hands might well allow a single individual to neutralise the incoming projectile.
“The Advanced Impact technology is nothing new, as it is a patent that Benelli launched a couple of years ago in the civilian sector. It was a huge success because hunters managed to hit and take down targets at distances that they previously could not reach,” a Benelli representative explains to EDR On-Line.
The patented Advanced Impact sees a barrel design with wider and longer connecting cones, both in the barrel and in the choke, which thus becomes a proprietary Advanced Impact choke with a length of 100 mm. According to the company this drastically increases the muzzle velocity of the pellets allowing to reach greater distances. Not only, another key issue in a C-UAS use is the superior penetration capacity obtained, which in some cases is even over 50% compared to the same cartridge fired with a standard barrel.
In the M4 AI Drone Guardian Benelli 12-gauge shotgun uses a 3-star modified choke as standard, as it considers it to be the one that guarantees the widest flexibility with the use of other types of ammunition, such as slug or double zero buckshot, in a range between 0 and 75 metres. According to data provided by Benelli, at 75 metres distance, using 35 grams Shot 6 long-distance cartridge, 20 to 25 pellets out of 230 2.7 mm shots hit a 37 centimetres diameter target, which is more or less the size of a mini-UAV. To kill a mini-UAV which structure is in plastic or carbon fibre two to three pellets are considered sufficient by most, and hitting the camera, the rotors or the battery is sufficient to neutralise the target.
Benelli set up a two-day test shooting in central Italy in cooperation with a national mini-UAV and First-Person-View (FPV) manufacturer, to carry out trials and produce a video. Typical ranges were between 0 and 100 metres; considering that the lethal range of a hand grenade is six metres and that of an RPG warhead is 15 metres, the typical payloads attached to FPVs, hitting the drone at 30 metres is enough to be safe.
Beside the new barrel, compared to the standard M4 the M4 A.I. Drone Guardian features a new forend with an M-Lok system at 3-6-9-12 o’ clock, and the ACRO which provides the shooter with a red dot perfectly aligned with the ghost ring sight. This allows the shooter to keep both eyes open covering a 220° field of view, a key element when looking for small objects closing in at high speed.
The suggested ammunition for the Benelli M4 A.I. Drone Guardian comes from Norma, one of BDT ammunition companies. The Swedish-based company purposely developed the Norma AD-LER, the acronym for Anti-Drone Long Effective Range. This hosts 2.7 mm diameter tungsten shots (n.6) that leave the barrel at 405 m/s, exploiting the rifle chamber capacity to withstand a 1,320-bar pressure.
The M4 A.I. Drone Guardian was tested also with other tungsten pellet cartridges, both with 18.5-inch (419 mm) and 26-inch barrels (660 mm), the two available from Benelli, showing an increase of V1 (velocity at 1 metre from the muzzle) between 2 and 3.5% with the shorter barrel and between 4 and 6% with the longer one compared to the standard M4 with an 18.5-inch barrel. Tests also showed that a higher number of pellets reaches a maximum speed, compared to what obtained with other barrels. Moreover, a much higher number of pellets reaches the target, as previously said. Penetration tests were even more relevant, Benelli A.I. shots reaching much deeper into the ballistic gel block.
The system proposed by Benelli raised a considerable interest. “We have been contacted by fire control system companies and ammunition companies that want to propose their products together with our rifle, as well as by some who want to mount five of our M4 A.I. Drone Guardian with AI-based acquisition systems on their automated turrets, some who want to mount it on a larger drone to shoot down smaller drones,” the Benelli representative explained.
The use of the Benelli M4 A.I. Drone Guardian goes well beyond the military, considering the threat posed by UAVs for prisons, high value targets, etc. The company is preparing six sample rifles for the US FBI, other major end-users such as SOCOM, Army and Marines having also asked for samples. “We have been invited to present our system at the International Special Operations Forces (ISOF) Range 2025, that will take place 1-2 April at the Nevada Test and Training Range, which means that we will have an official report from the US SOCOM,” the company representative told EDR On-Line. Considering that the event will be attended by delegations of over 30 countries, it is easy forecast to see the number of samples request multiply in the next few months.
Benelli started low-rate initial production of its M4 A.I. Drone Guardian shotgun in late 2024, however it is clear that production rate will have to be increase if tests being conducted by potential customers will go as planned.
Photos courtesy Benelli and P. Valpolini