News Brief
China Unveils World’s First Anti-Drone Barrage Weapon Capable Of Countering Swarms And Missiles
A drone (Marut Drones) (File photo) (Representative Image)
China’s state-run defence firm Norinco has said that it has developed the world’s first close-in anti-drone barrage weapon, which is capable of countering drone swarms and high-speed missile threats.
Dubbed the Bullet Curtain, the system uses a “plane-to-point” interception model which forms a wall of projectiles to blanket incoming targets with overlapping firepower.
The system was revealed in the April issue of Modern Weaponry, a publication affiliated with Norinco.
“Imagine the target is a fly. The traditional air-defence interception is like throwing stones at the fly continuously … and now the barrage system is like swinging a fly swatter, which covers the entire area where the fly may move,” Yu Bin, the chief designer of the system, said in the report, SCMP reported.
“While traditional air-defence weapons only hit at a single point, we are building a canopy capable of countering a saturation attack,” he said.
The system reportedly uses a 4x4 tight arrangement of 35mm gun barrels for various types of ammunition to deliver a high rate of fire while maintaining quick reload capabilities.
It fires 35mm advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) ammunition that spits hundreds of sub-projectiles each to form a barrage against drones.
For larger and faster targets like missiles, Yu claimed that the the team had developed new “serial and parallel ammunition”.
The system reportedly integrates radar, an optical detection system, fire-control system, integrated management system and ammunition with the platform.
The system has been fitted on a 6x6 truck and configured as a road-mobile air-defence cover embedded in mechanised units.
However, according to Yu, its modular design means it can also be integrated with various platforms, including wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles, naval ships and fixed installations, allowing rapid deployment across different combat scenarios while staying compatible with existing military infrastructure.
He described this adaptive targeting capability as the key highlight of the weapon system.
Yu acknowledged inspiration from Metal Storm—a late-1990s joint US-Australian rapid-fire weapon concept—which faced development hurdles and did not enter active service.
According to Yu, Norinco’s version had refined and advanced the idea, transforming it into a fully operational product that provided low-cost and highly effective area air defence.
Multiple live demonstrations have proven its effectiveness against drone swarms – a critical capability in modern warfare, according to the report.
Drone swarming, which overwhelms conventional defences through numbers and speed, is increasingly seen as a tactical challenge in modern conflict zones.
The tactic is also cost-asymmetric—cheap drones can rapidly deplete expensive missile-based defence systems.
“There is an urgent need for an anti-drone weapon that is capable of locking onto and tracking a number of targets at the same time, and of carrying out simultaneous multi-point or area coverage strikes on a number of targets, thus accomplishing massive destruction of drone swarms in the shortest possible time,” Yu said.
“And this barrage weapon, with low-cost, high-efficiency regional air-defence capabilities … is the much-needed air defence system," he added.
Yu also claimed that the system is capable of engaging a broader spectrum of aerial threats, including cruise missiles, mortar shells, as well as fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters.
