China has unveiled a type of innovative barrage weapon system, the first of its kind in the world, with its chief designer introducing in a recent magazine interview that the weapon can effectively counter drone swarms.The air defense system, named the anti-drone swarm and anti-missile barrage weapon system in full, is unveiled in the April edition of the Modern Weaponry magazine.Yu Bin, the chief designer of the system, said in an interview with the magazine that thebarrage the weapon shoots is a wall of projectiles that can cover incoming positions of all targets, achieving effective interception with the concept of plane to point.Conventional air defense guns use the concept of point to point interception, but when multiple air defense guns fire together, they can raise fire density and probability of interception, Yu said, noting that his new system is developed with a similar concept.The Modern Weaponry magazine showed a prototype of the barrage weapon.
It features 16 tightly designed gun barrels and unique munitions.Yu said that this close-in air defense barrage system is a worlds first, aimed to deal with aerial threats such as drone swarms.
It is characterized by its fast reload speed, high fire density, controllable barrage size, outstanding destructive power and capability to accompany troops in maneuvers.Currently available air defense weapons have shortcomings in countering drone swarms, as they lack sufficient capability to deal with saturation attacks and suffer from low cost-efficiency.
However, the new equipment does not have these shortcomings, Yu said.The barrage weapon system has conducted multiple demonstrations against drone swarms, and the results showed that it can shoot down all small-sized drones with a single barrage, Yu said.In addition to drone swarms, the barrage weapon can also intercept high speed air-launched munitions such as missiles.
It can also counter rockets, mortar shells and howitzer shells, according to Yu.
While the primary targets of the barrage weapon are incoming aerial targets such as drone swarms, fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and cruise missiles, among others, it is also possible to attack ground or water surface targets when necessary, he said.The chief designer added that the system is also modularized, making it possible to be installed on trucks, tracked or wheeled armored vehicles, as well as warships.Fu Qianshao, a Chinese military affairs expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday that he sees good prospects in the new weapon given its high cost-efficiency and good effectiveness against drone swarms and missilesThe barrage weapon system is not only appealing to domestic users, but it can also be put on the international market, as the battlefields face the increasing threats posed by drones, Fu said.Source: Global Times