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The Ukraine War Has Changed Things
Drones have quickly become one of the most challenging threats on today’s battlefields. With these FPV drones popping up everywhere, Russian and Ukrainian forces fighting in Ukraine have been forced to think outside the box. Enter the 5.45 Anti-Drone round—an improvised buckshot cartridge designed to give an AK-74 a fighting chance against pesky drones.
This article takes you through the fascinating evolution, design, and tactical considerations behind this creative solution.
Table of Contents
The Birth of the 5.45 Anti-Drone Innovation
In early July, a video surfaced showing a Russian combatant crafting a homemade buckshot cartridge. Using a length of electrical wire insulation as a sleeve, he filled it with ball bearings and heated the sleeve with a candle to shrink it around the shot. Then, by removing the standard projectile from a 5.45x39mm cartridge and placing the improvised shot on top of the propellant, he created a round that many are now calling the 5.45 Anti-Drone solution. This innovative approach was the first sign that soldiers were adapting their standard rifles to counter the emerging drone threat.
How the 5.45 Anti-Drone Round Works
The basic idea is simple yet ingenious. By replacing the traditional bullet with a cluster of small shot—typically seven 4.5mm ball bearings—the cartridge increases the chance of hitting a small, fast-moving drone. The process involves:
- Filling the Sleeve: A cable or wire insulation sleeve is loaded with ball bearings, often using a simple tool like a tent peg to push the shot in.
- Heat Shrinking: Using a candle or lighter, the sleeve is heat shrunk to secure the ball bearings in place.
- Cartridge Assembly: The shot-filled sleeve is then inserted into a pre-extracted 5.45x39mm cartridge, with the case neck manually crimped to hold everything together.
This makeshift design is clever because it allows soldiers to quickly convert standard ammunition into a 5.45 Anti-Drone round, providing a potential countermeasure when specialized anti-drone systems aren’t available.
Field Testing and Tactical Considerations
By November, interest in the 5.45 Anti-Drone concept had surged on social media channels. Several Russian Telegram posts showed photographs and videos of these rounds. One channel on November 12 shared images of two buckshot cartridges alongside sleeves loaded with seven ball bearings. The posts suggested alternating magazine loads with buckshot and tracer rounds—a tactic that, according to some, helps “clean” the barrel of any plastic residue left behind.
On November 14, another video demonstrated the assembly process in detail. A combatant was seen filling a cable sleeve with seven Crossman 4.5mm (.177) ball bearings, heat shrinking it with a lighter, and seating it into a standard 7N6 cartridge case. Just two days later, on November 16, the first clip emerged showing the 5.45 Anti-Drone round in action. In this video, a Russian soldier in a trench engaged a passing FPV drone, managing to clip one of its rotors.
Additional posts on November 18 and November 29 further illustrated both the assembly and field use of these rounds. In one November 29 video, several individuals were seen working in a small workshop setting—an indication that production was scaling up. The demonstration also highlighted a key tactical detail: soldiers often remove the rifle’s standard muzzle-brake to avoid damage from stray shot, despite the potential impact on recoil control.
Here we can see some alternating magazine loadings with Armor Piercing, the Anti-Drone Cartridges, then what looks like standard ball ammo after.
Potential Issues and Risks
While the 5.45 Anti-Drone concept is undeniably innovative, it comes with a set of potential drawbacks:
- Barrel Fouling: The use of plastic sleeving can gum up the barrel’s rifling, impacting the rifle’s accuracy and possibly leading to dangerous obstructions.
- Feeding Reliability: The improvised rounds vary in projectile length and rigidity, raising concerns about how reliably they feed in the magazine.
- Damage to the Rifle: Using steel BBs, instead of lead shot, might increase wear on the barrel and other components. Soldiers have noted that firing these rounds may eventually lead to catastrophic fouling.
- Temperature Sensitivity: Field conditions—especially significant temperature swings—could compromise the integrity of the plastic sleeves, potentially affecting performance.
Despite these challenges, many Russian posts concluded that if a dedicated shotgun isn’t available, an AK-74 armed with 5.45 Anti-Drone buckshot is better than nothing. Below you can see a video that is supposed to show a barrel after firing the improvised rounds. Round count and exact construction is unknown. This could be after a few rounds or a few magazines. Also, steel or lead shot could have been used.
A journey up the barrel of a Ukrainian AK-74 after the firing of improvised 5.45mm cartridges with shot encased in heat-shrink plastic.
— Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2) February 8, 2025
The numbers of rounds fired through the barrel is unknown.
There is no consensus in Russian Telegram chat about what is visible. https://t.co/P4Vnu0b4f0 pic.twitter.com/gVBRpZ7b20
Evolving Tactics and Real-World Impact
In early December, additional videos and photographs showed further developments in this improvised ammunition technique. On December 3, another Telegram post featured images of magazines loaded with a mix of buckshot, standard ball ammunition, and even black-tip armor-piercing rounds (7N22). The alternating loading strategy was reiterated as a way to mitigate the fouling effect by “cleaning” the bore with non-buckshot rounds.
By December 5, range videos demonstrated the practical impact of these rounds. One video claimed that 14 rounds produced 41 punctures on a metal target just 25 feet away—a promising result for short-range engagements. However, the removal of the muzzle-brake in these tests highlighted the ongoing trade-offs between improved drone engagement and potential long-term damage to the rifle.
Recent updates have also emerged from Ukrainian sources. A clip on December 22 showed a Ukrainian tester experimenting with a version containing six ball bearings. Further videos on December 24 and January 9, 2025, confirmed that the concept was receiving attention on both sides of the conflict, underscoring the urgent need for effective counter-drone measures.
Interestingly, some reports indicate that the buckshot used in these rounds appears to be #6 shot, with 4.0mm and 5.0mm heat shrink tubing to hold the projectiles together. This places the design somewhere between experimental duplex rounds and traditional pistol shot loads—a testament to the resourcefulness born out of necessity.
A Ukrainian soldier tests the use of 5.45 cartridges with an AK-47 using modified cartridges that have the bullet replaced with a heat-shrink tube containing 6 buckshot.
— Roy🇨🇦 (@GrandpaRoy2) December 14, 2024
Similar to the Russian 4-shot cartridges, the shot easily pierced a plywood target. https://t.co/EacJQoCtjy pic.twitter.com/HnjShmapg5
Policing the Brass - Final Thoughts
The improvised 5.45 Anti-Drone buckshot round is a fascinating example of battlefield innovation born from necessity. As drone warfare continues to evolve, the need for rapid, effective countermeasures becomes ever more pressing. While these improvised rounds come with significant risks—such as barrel fouling, feeding issues, and potential rifle damage—they also represent a critical stopgap measure against a new type of threat, and it appears that production of these rounds is only increasing. With even some U.S. shooters trying to duplicate the loadings.
The story of the 5.45 Anti-Drone round is still unfolding. Its continued evolution, coupled with real-world testing and tactical adaptations, underscores a fundamental truth in modern combat: when conventional methods fall short, ingenuity takes center stage. Stay tuned for further updates on this groundbreaking development, and remember—whether you’re engaged in the field or honing your skills in concealed carry training, the future of firearms innovation is as dynamic as the threats we face.
