{"id":61500,"date":"2025-10-27T21:28:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-27T20:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/?p=61500"},"modified":"2026-05-01T05:52:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-01T03:52:27","slug":"this-is-the-benelli-m4-ai-drone-guardian-anti-drone-shotgun-that-spain-could-acquire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2025\/10\/27\/this-is-the-benelli-m4-ai-drone-guardian-anti-drone-shotgun-that-spain-could-acquire\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the Benelli M4 AI Drone Guardian anti-drone shotgun that Spain could acquire"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Drones are revolutionizing the world of defense and also presenting new and difficult challenges that must be addressed.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2023\/10\/30\/sig-sauer-mcx-the-seals-weapon-that-the-spanish-navy-has-purchased-for-the-fgne\/\">Sig Sauer MCX, the SEALs weapon that the Spanish Navy has purchased for the FGNE<\/a><\/rel><br \/>\n<rel><a href=\"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/2024\/10\/28\/spanish-soldiers-test-the-msbs-grot-rifle-and-the-vis-100-pistol-of-the-polish-army\/\">Spanish soldiers test the MSBS Grot rifle and the VIS 100 pistol of the Polish Army<\/a><\/rel><\/p>\n<p>For years, various solutions have existed to combat drones, depending on their size and the height at which they fly. <strong>One of the lightest and most effective systems for shooting down small drones at close range is a weapon that has been available for a long time: the shotgun.<\/strong> This weapon, which uses cartridges loaded with pellets that disperse before reaching the target, is like a reduced and simplified version of some artillery systems against heavy drones.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Ukrainian Soldiers Shoot Down Russian Lancet Drone With Shotgun - Helmet Camera\" width=\"665\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/W7fdvMcOAgc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Ukrainian Army has been using shotguns against Russian drones for years<\/strong>, including traditional hunting shotguns, as we can see in this video. The success of these weapons against small drones at low altitudes has given rise to a new variant of these weapons: <strong>shotguns specifically designed to shoot down drones.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357072_530004a6ef_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357072_6ab986026d_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>In 1998, the Italian firm Benelli Armi introduced the M4<\/strong>, a semi-automatic shotgun with a 12 mm caliber and seven-round capacity. <strong>Its first military user was the US Marine Corps,<\/strong> which acquired 20,000 units. Since then, other countries have acquired this weapon for their Armed Forces. <strong>In Spain, its first military user was the Special Naval Warfare Force (FGNE),<\/strong> the Navy's elite unit. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/pablopalacin_cqb-m4-escopeta-activity-7275843118631956481-0k5P\/?originalSubdomain=es\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">In 2024, the Tercio de Armada announced the purchase of the Benelli M4A1<\/a>, with a 14-inch barrel.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357122_f9824d567b_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357122_e515464586_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So far, the main use of these weapons is in close quarters combat and assaults on ships. In June 2024, <a href=\"https:\/\/contrataciondelestado.es\/wps\/portal\/plataforma\/buscadores\/detalle\/!ut\/p\/z1\/hVDLcoJAEPwajmFnWVwgN-RNNGJ4KHuhMEGkClgLiP5-FuMlVUmcW8909_QMYmiPWF9emrqcGt6XrcA5o4XqbCzL9RXQY2KDsrLTlPozVFCGdo8oTIzhjzJB6NmNsiCWmoVZROPAAwh8116leAGeQu-EfzxykUErzMzZmoFBYLN8ExnCaJ1EnoIBKEp7PnTinnj2aj6cS4tyTLBONEMD7a73PAjw0gMVv7zaQCPNCZ1tMq94pA8Rq1t--H6Y2R-IXiM2VMdqqAb5cxDt0zSdx2cJJLher3LNed1W8jvvJPhNcuLjhPY_mejcuUbwlHfFOjl2O338AgG2VoE!\/dz\/d5\/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh\/\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">the Ministry of the Interior also acquired six Benelli M4s for its TEDAX robots<\/a> (explosive disposal). Now, <strong>the Spanish Armed Forces may be considering a new use for these weapons<\/strong>, based on the lessons of the war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357077_40e3a8d533_o.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/54883357077_ae895b5efb_c.jpg\" style=\"width:100%; height:auto; border:0px;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Yesterday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.infodefensa.com\/texto-diario\/mostrar\/5476967\/ejercito-aire-hace-pedido-escopetas-italiana-berelli-valorado-millon-euros\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Infodensa published<\/a> that <strong>the Air Force has announced the acquisition of Benelli shotguns and laser designators<\/strong> for an amount of 1.3 million euros. <strong>At the moment, the model of the chosen weapon has not been indicated, but Infodefensa points to the Benelli M4 AI Drone Guardian<\/strong>, a model presented in 2024 by the Italian firm and designed to shoot down drones. <a href=\"https:\/\/benelli.it\/en\/arma\/m4-ai-drone-guardian\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Benelli explains this weapon as follows:<\/a><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><em>\"<strong>For the first time, the 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun is used in drone defense, thanks to the use of specialized ammunition, like lead 4 in tungsten.<\/strong> With the introduction of the M4 A.I. Drone Guardian, equipped with Benelli Advanced Impact barrels, another leap forward is made in precision and effectiveness. <strong>This advanced ballistic solution allows interception and neutralization of airborne threats with optimal effectiveness from 0 to 50 meters, with an extended range up to 100 meters in extreme conditions<\/strong>, maintaining precision and impact power.\"<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><strong>The Drone Guardian has a 47cm barrel and weighs 3,900 grams.<\/strong> Regarding the effectiveness of this anti-drone shotgun, a few days ago the Finnish <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@ShotgunKim\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kim Lepp\u00e4nen<\/a>, world champion in shotgun shooting against FPV drones, <strong>published a video showing the Benelli M4 AI Drone Guardian in action:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"World Champion Shotgun Shooter vs FPV Drones \u2013 You Won\u2019t Believe the Ending!\" width=\"665\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mORdXxZ2uKU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>---<\/p>\n<p><small>Images: Beretta Defense Technologies \/ Benelli Defense.<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Drones are revolutionizing the world of defense and also presenting new and difficult challenges that must be addressed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[19534,11548],"tags":[25625,25626,7519,11875,12858,10669,18610,6842],"class_list":["post-61500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-defense-portada-eng","category-armament","tag-benelli-m4","tag-benelli-m4-ai-drone-guardian","tag-drones","tag-spanish-air-force","tag-spanish-marine-infantry","tag-spanish-navy","tag-special-naval-warfare-force-fgne","tag-tercio-de-armada-tear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=61500"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61500\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=61500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=61500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.outono.net\/elentir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=61500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}