There is no shortage of ways to shoot down a drone, but putting eight shotguns on a remote-controlled turret is one of the more unusual approaches. That’s exactly what the LIVET Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) brings to the counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) fight, combining a bank of Italian-made Benelli shotguns with AI-driven target tracking and remote weapon operation.
Developed through a collaboration between Beretta Defense Technologies and Italian technology company DUALEE, the LIVET is designed to address one of the most significant challenges facing modern militaries, namely, the proliferation of small, inexpensive drones that can pose a disproportionate threat to much more valuable military equipment and critical infrastructure, and above all else, personnel.
The system recently completed a live demonstration in Denmark in front of the Danish Armed Forces, showcasing its capabilities and highlighting the growing interest in kinetic solutions to the small-drone problem.
At the heart of the LIVET is its eight-gun configuration. Each weapon is based on Benelli’s M4 Drone Guardian, a purpose-built semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun developed specifically for counter-drone applications. The weapon fires programmable airburst ammunition intended to improve the chances of defeating small aerial targets.
The underlying concept is relatively straightforward. Small drones can be extremely difficult to hit with conventional rifle or machine gun fire, particularly when they are moving quickly or maneuvering unpredictably. A shotgun’s spreading projectile pattern increases the area covered by each shot. Programmable airburst ammunition adds another dimension, allowing the projectile payload to disperse at a selected distance from the target.
The use of shotguns against small drones, in general, is gaining considerable attention as militaries search for affordable, effective ways to counter the proliferation of these kinds of low-cost targets. While shotguns are traditionally associated with very close-range combat, the same characteristics that make them so capable of bird hunting make them an interesting option for engaging small, relatively slow-moving aerial targets.
The LIVET takes this concept and scales it up considerably. Rather than relying on a single shotgun, it brings eight weapons together on a remotely operated platform. This arrangement offers a larger ammunition capacity and redundancy, while potentially allowing the system to address multiple incoming threats and having a much higher probability of kill against single ones.
LIVET M4 drone Guardian
The other major element is the turret’s tracking capability. Its AI-based system is designed to detect, recognize, and automatically track small aerial threats, handling the target-following and weapon-alignment process while an operator monitors the engagement. Up to five targets can be tracked simultaneously. The system can also be integrated with external radio-frequency and radar sensors, allowing it to receive target information and orient itself toward potential threats detected elsewhere.
Sensor integration is particularly important, since a counter-drone system is only as effective as its ability to detect and locate the threat in the first place. Combining external sensors with automated tracking should allow LIVET to function as part of a broader layered air-defense architecture rather than operating as an isolated weapon station.
Despite its automated tracking capabilities, the final engagement decision remains with the human operator.
The LIVET builds on Benelli’s Drone Guardian concept, introduced in 2024, taking the shotgun-based counter-drone approach into a remotely operated, multi-weapon configuration. Its development also reflects the wider evolution of C-UAS technology since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, where relatively inexpensive drones have demonstrated their ability to threaten armored vehicles, artillery, logistics networks, and other high-value assets.
As we have repeatedly highlighted for years now, the proliferation of small drones creates not only a new kind of threat but a difficult economic equation for militaries. Using expensive missiles to defeat cheap uncrewed aircraft is often unsustainable, particularly when defending against repeated or large-scale attacks. Gun-based systems offer a potentially more economical kinetic alternative, although their effectiveness depends heavily on detection range, engagement geometry, ammunition performance, and the nature of the incoming threat.
As for shotgun-based counter-drone systems, their operational utility is constrained by their very short engagement distances. This is not a solution designed to take on larger UAVs, fixed-wing drones, or threats operating at medium altitude. Its intended targets are primarily micro- and mini-UAVs, particularly small quadcopters and FPV drones that approach within close range of the protected asset.
The French Army, which has ordered the baseline M4 Drone Guardian, has identified approximately 160 feet as the optimal effective engagement range for shotgun-based anti-drone applications, while stating a maximum range of up to 330 feet. This is much more limited compared to what traditional centerfire rifle caliber cartridges can achieve, but those do not benefit from a shotgun’s spread, and especially the volume of sky an airburst round can fill.
This places shotgun-based systems firmly in the short-range, terminal layer of counter-UAS defense. They are most relevant when a drone has already penetrated other defensive layers and is approaching troops, vehicles, installations, or other protected assets. At these distances, even a relatively inexpensive weapon can provide a useful last line of defense, especially when conventional electronic countermeasures are ineffective. This is a reality that has been proven time and again on the battlefield in Ukraine.
There are also important differences between engaging a hovering reconnaissance or bomblet-dropping quadcopter and intercepting a fast-moving FPV drone. Target size, speed, approach angle, and available reaction time all have a significant influence on the probability of a successful engagement. The use of programmable airburst ammunition may improve the engagement opportunity, but it does not eliminate the fundamental limitations imposed by range and target maneuverability.
LIVET is not the first attempt to put multiple barrels or multiple guns to work against small drones. The concept is attracting interest elsewhere, although the approaches vary considerably. In Ukraine, both sides have experimented with improvised vehicle-mounted arrays of multiple barrels intended for close-range anti-drone use. Purpose-designed examples using shotguns include Turkey’s Drone Kalkanı, for example, which mounts two 12-gauge weapons on a remotely operated turret. Meanwhile, the Estonia-based Edge Group has integrated a quad shotgun on a remote weapon station, mounted on a Ukrainian uncrewed ground vehicle (UGV). Vehicle mountings, crewed and uncrewed, could be an option for LIVET, too.
When it comes to LIVET, mounting eight shotguns on a remotely operated turret increases the available firepower and ammunition capacity, but it does not fundamentally change the basic limitations of the weapons themselves.
Instead, LIVET should be understood as a specialized last line of defense system, potentially complementing more traditional, farther-reaching gun systems, electronic warfare, interceptor drones, and longer-range kinetic air-defense systems. On the other hand, in lower threat areas, it could provide independent coverage against incoming drones.
Whether it can translate its unusual configuration into a practical and cost-effective operational capability will depend on further testing and real-world deployment. We have approached both Beretta Defense Technologies and DUALEE for any details on potential orders, ongoing competitions, and other evaluation programs.
Clearly, however, as the drone threat continues to evolve, the counter-drone arsenal is becoming increasingly creative, with this multi-barrel shotgun solution being a good example of that.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com