BAE Systems showed its new anti-drone gun, the Tridon Mk2, at the global Eurosatory defense and security event, held in Paris, June 17-21.
The Tridon Mk2, which can be mounted onto trucks, includes acquisition sensors for night and day, a fire control system, and a gun. Three soldiers riding in the truck's cab are required to operate the system. While Tridon Mk2 is capable of firing up to 300 rounds per minute, the system currently tops out at just 100 ready rounds.
“On today’s battlefields, tens of thousands of drones are shot down every month, and this new threat has exposed a dangerous gap in current air defense capabilities for NATO allies," stated BAE. "The Tridon Mk2 offers a solution to help fill that gap."
BAE communications director Henrik Graff-Hedberg sees potential targets as drones of any size, as well as swarms of unmanned aerial threats.
“When we have a swarm of drones, we use a firing pattern,” said Graff-Hedberg. “So, we are having a deliberate dispersion of the rounds, which means we are looking at fragments over a wide area.”
BAE's Swedish division began work on what was to become Tridon Mk2 in September 2023, and is planning to increase test firings this August before presenting the system for demonstration viewings. An interested military could add the Tridon Mk2 to its armory by the end of 2024.
