Seems like flak guns ought to be returned to service against drone swarms.
Forbes https://www.forbes.com › sites › sebastienroblin › 2022 › 12 › 11 › to-stop-killer-drones-ukraine-upgrades-ancient-flak-guns-with-consumer-cameras-and-tablets To Stop Killer Drones, Ukraine Upgrades Ancient Flak Guns With ... - Forbes Dec 11, 2022Photos of an air defense training exercise of Ukraine's Territorial Defense Force show a 20-millimeter anti-aircraft gun fitted with consumer CCTV cameras to serve as thermal and daylight sights ...
Aviation Week Network https://aviationweek.com › defense-space › budget-policy-operations › drone-threat-puts-flak-back-demand Drone Threat Puts Flak Back In Demand | Aviation Week Network Jun 24, 2024The Gepard anti-aircraft guns that Germany donated to Ukraine were once considered obsolete, but they have proven highly effective against drones and cruise missiles.
Yet,
As with most things that are perceived to do harm, the instinct of many defence agencies has been to fight fire with fire—hurt it before it hurts us. Hard-kill capabilities are at the forefront, and there’s a rising appetite to use bullets and lasers to down drones that come too close.
Unfortunately, hard-killing drones is rarely effective. The German Flakpanzer Gepard anti-aircraft gun has been successful against the Iranian HESA Shahed 136, but it remains an exception, not the norm. And despite its usefulness in the instance of the Shahed, it still suffers ammunition resupply issues, uses ‘dumb’ bullets and, ultimately, will face new challenges as foes get smarter.
The reality is that the old-hat method of shooting at anything that poses a threat is extremely difficult when the target is a small object moving at 100 kilometres an hour in often unpredictable patterns. Many militaries have tried using small arms, but it almost never works unless the drones are extremely close and there are only a few of them.
A centrepiece of Ukraine’s defence against Russia is the use of soft-kill capabilities to defeat drones. Soft kill—or smart jamming—uses radio frequency instead of bullets and lasers. It can actively monitor for drones, unlike yesteryear’s sensors, and take them down using handheld devices without explosions.
Soft kill is also free of the restrictions of ammunition. Fragmenting rounds from large turreted weapons—typically of the 25- to 35-millimetre calibre variety—can down a few drones, but large amounts of ammunition are required to deal with just a few targets. Then there’s the issue of setting up and moving the turret, alongside the logistics of resupply. - https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/why-a-hard-kill-strategy-doesnt-work-against-combat-drones/
Why a hard-kill strategy doesn’t work against combat drones 13 Sep 2023|Oleg Vornik