Sweden Testing Super-Cheap Anti-Drone Trucks Against Dangerous Drones

Hello everyone and welcome back to the Fluctus channel. Modern battlefields are filling up with small drones, attack craft, armored vehicles, and targets that can appear with little warning. That has renewed the value of heavy machine guns and automatic cannons, especially when they can be aimed faster and more precisely than a human gunner exposed on an open mount. Sweden's Saab developed the Trackfire remote weapon station around that idea. Keep the operator protected while sensors, stabilization, and fire control electronics find, follow, and engage the target. Trackfire can be installed on land vehicles, naval craft, or fixed defensive positions. Its architecture separates the independently stabilized sensor module from the weapon axes, helping the operator maintain sight of a target even while the gun recoils or the platform itself is moving. Depending on configuration, it can carry weapons ranging from a 7.62mm machine gun and 12.7mm heavy machine gun to grenade launchers, missiles, or the 30x113mm M230LF Bushmaster used on Trackfire airs. Mounting begins by integrating the director unit, weapon cradle, sensors, power supply, and operator interface with the host platform. Once powered, the operator works from a protected console using daylight and infrared cameras, a laser rangefinder, and video tracking rather than remaining physically exposed beside the weapon. Target acquisition is where the system becomes much more than a remotely fired gun. When a contact is detected, Trackfire measures distance, follows movement, and calculates the ballistic solution. Instead of manually guessing how far to lead a fast-moving target, the operator keeps the sight on it while the fire control computer continuously updates where the weapon should point. That becomes especially important against drones, which can be small, fast, and difficult to hit with conventional manual mounts. Saab has demonstrated Trackfire working with the Compact Giraffe 1X radar in a counter-UAS role. The radar first detects and tracks the airborne contact, then passes that track to the weapon station, where optical sensors refine identification. A jammer can provide a non-kinetic option, while the gun supplies the hard-kill response. On Trackfire airs, the M230LF can use proximity-fused ammunition designed to detonate close enough to a drone to damage it even without a direct projectile strike. During demonstrations on Gotland, this layered process moves from detection to classification, tracking, and finally engagement, with the operator deciding whether to jam the threat or destroy it kinetically. At sea, the problem becomes even harder because both the target and the gun platform may be moving. Trackfire sea trials place the station on fast craft where waves, turns, and acceleration constantly disturb the firing platform. The stabilized mount compensates for that motion, allowing the sensors and weapon to remain aligned while the boat maneuvers. This is where the combination with the CB90 fast assault craft becomes especially striking. The CB90 is already built for speed, shallow water maneuvering, and coastal operations, and adding a remotely operated stabilized weapon gives the boat a system that can scan and engage without forcing a gunner to remain exposed above deck. Trackfire therefore represents a wider change in modern firepower. The gun still provides the destructive effect, but radar, optics, software, stabilization, and remote control increasingly determine whether rounds arrive quickly and accurately enough to That same shift is driving another European family of counter-drone systems, but this time around larger 35mm guns, programmable ammunition, and networked air defense sensors. In other words, the remote weapon station turns a vehicle or boat into a firing platform whose crew can search, identify, and engage from behind armor. Against drones, that reaction time can be just as important as the size of the gun itself. Germany's Rheinmetall approaches the same counter-drone problem with larger, networked air defense systems. Its Skynex and Skyranger families detect aerial targets, track them precisely, and destroy them before they reach protected forces or infrastructure. Where Trackfire concentrates sensors and firepower on one station, Rheinmetall expands the idea into a network in which radars, command systems, and guns share the same target picture. Skynex is built around that networked approach. Search radars and electro-optical sensors detect threats and pass track data into a command and control system which assigns the most suitable effector. One option is the truck-mounted Oerlikon revolver gun MK3. The 35mm weapon carries its own tracking radar and electro-optical sensor unit, allowing it to work independently or within the wider Skynex architecture. Once a drone is detected, radar updates its position, the fire control computer predicts its path, and the gun slews toward the projected interception point. Against small drones, the ammunition is just as important as the weapon. Rheinmetall's AHEAD rounds are programmed to release a cloud of sub-projectiles at a calculated point in front of the target. Instead of depending on one large shell to strike a tiny aircraft directly, the system creates a dense pattern through which the drone or loitering munition must fly. During swarm demonstrations, the sequence moves quickly from detection and tracking to fire control calculation and a short burst of programmed ammunition. The objective is to destroy several low-cost threats without spending expensive missiles on every contact. The Skyranger family brings that cannon-based air defense directly onto armored vehicles. During live trials, crews establish the sensor picture and designate a drone target before the turret automatically slews toward the contact. Radar and electro-optical trackers refine the aim, and when the firing window is safe, the revolver cannon sends a controlled burst toward the intercept point. Because the system moves with the vehicle, armored formations can carry short-range air defense rather than depending entirely on fixed sites. Behind every firing trial is an industrial chain producing the ammunition. Rheinmetall-Denel Munition in South Africa manufactures medium and large-caliber ammunition through a process that begins with metal components forged or machined to exact dimensions. Shell bodies are inspected, energetic materials and propellants are prepared under tightly controlled conditions, and fuses are fitted according to ammunition type. Components then move through filling, assembly, quality control, and packaging before delivery. The process may look far removed from a drone engagement, but every burst depends on manufacturing steps completed long before the gun reaches the range. Poland has developed its own answer through Zakłady Mechaniczne Tarno, a defense manufacturer whose history reaches back to a railway workshop founded in 1917 before later moving into weapons production. Its counter-UAV system combines radar and electro-optical sensors with a remotely controlled multi-barrel 12.7mm WLKM machine gun. Radar detects the drone, cameras, and a laser rangefinder refine identification and distance, and the weapon station is then directed toward the track while the operator remains at a protected control position. The WLKM can fire thousands of rounds per minute, creating a dense stream of projectiles against small, fast targets. That makes Tarno's approach different in scale from Rheinmetall's 35mm airburst concept, but the underlying logic is nearly identical. Sensors find the threat, computers track it, and remote firepower responds before a manually aimed mount could react. From Trackfire to Skynex, Skyranger, and Poland's counter-UAV guns, Europe is moving toward layered defenses where radar finds the target, software predicts its path, and remote weapons respond. But not every obstacle is in the sky. Armored forces still face minefields and barriers, requiring a different protected machine entirely. While remote weapon stations deal with threats in the air, armored formations still have to cross minefields and other obstacles on the ground. Armored breaching vehicles create safe lanes through barriers that could stop an entire column. Germany has long used the Keiler mine-clearing vehicle for this mission. Based on the older M48 tank chassis, it carries a rotating mine flail at the front. Chains with heavy striking elements beat the ground ahead, triggering or destroying buried mines before following troops reach them. As the machine advances, the cleared path is marked for vehicles and engineers. Before entering the minefield, the crew lowers the flail and aligns with the planned breach lane. The rotor spins at high speed, throwing chains into the soil. Dust and fragments erupt as each impact works through the ground. The driver maintains a controlled pace, so the flail covers the route without leaving dangerous gaps. Lane markers identify the corridor for following forces. Mine-clearing can also use explosive line charges. These launch a long charge across the minefield and detonate it, triggering or destroying mines along the route. Engineers still verify and mark the lane, but the blast can open a path faster than mechanical clearing. Rheinmetall has taken those ideas into the Keiler Next Generation. Based on a Leopard 2 chassis, it combines a mine-clearing plow with a plow fatter line charge system, giving the crew two methods for opening mine barriers. An integrated line marking system keeps the cleared corridor visible, even at night or in reduced visibility. The front-mounted plow pushes mines and soil away from the vehicle's path, while a magnetic field duplicator is intended to counter magnetically triggered mines. If commanders need a faster breach, the line charge system fires ahead before the plow moves forward. A crane and excavator arm add engineering capability for handling obstacles, equipment, and recovery tasks. Protection matters because a breaching vehicle must drive directly toward the obstacle. The Keiler Next Generation therefore uses Leopard 2 mobility and protection, and includes a remotely operated weapon station for self-defense while the crew stays under armor. The connection to the counter drone systems is clear. Trackfire and Skyranger protect troops from threats overhead, while Keiler attacks hazards directly ahead. Both rely on sensors, automation, protected crews, and specialized effectors. From remotely controlled guns tracking drones to armored machines tearing open minefields, modern battlefield technology is increasingly built around one goal. Move the human operator away from the most exposed point, while machines absorb more of the immediate danger. 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