Click to see full-size image. (Rostec)
IGLA anti-drone shotgun cartridges are being tested by Russian troops in the special military operation zone, an official of the enterprise that developed the ammunition told TASS on the sidelines of the 12th MILEX international arms and military hardware show in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.
“They are undergoing operational evaluation [in the special military operation zone],” the enterprise’s official said, replying to a question from the Russian state-run news agency.
The cartridges, which were first showcased at MILEX 2025 by Russia’s tech giant Rostec, include the IGLA 30, 50, 100 and Tracer 75 models. The numbers indicate the maximum range of engaging targets, like FPV suicide drones.
All of the cartridges are for 12 gauge shotguns, but offered in the standard 12/70 calibre as well as the 12/76. Which is also known as 12 gauge Magnum.
The 12/70 cartridges have a length of 70 mm, and the 12/76 a length of 76 mm, which affects the amount of shot the cartridges can carry, as well as the amount of propellent and felt recoil. According to Rostc, the flight speed of the shot is at least 435 metres per second, and that No. 0000-5 or 6.2-8.5 mm buckshot can be used.
The IGLA 100 is stated to be loaded with pellets that are 1.5 times as dense as lead. This indicates that a tungsten pellet is used. Tungsten is much harder than lead, which means that it will penetrate a drone more effectively. In fact, Rostc said that this cartridge can penetrate two 1 mm thick aluminium sheets from 100 meters.
Meanwhile, the IGLA Tracer 75 uses a red light element to trace the flight of the pellets from 20 to 120 meters, allowing the user to adjust their aim while shooting.
The IGLA 50, 100 and Tracer 75 all use containerised pellets, which are held in a cup within the cartridge. This helps to control the spread of the pellets, which is critical when engaging small targets at long ranges like drones.
However, the IGLA 30 features a different design meant to create a large, dense spread of pellets for last minute engagements of drones at very short range.
The troops of the former Syrian Arab Army were the first to use shotguns to take down small drones used by rebels for reconnaissance or attack during the Syrian civil war. The method was proven to be highly effective.
As Keiv forces began to relay more and more on FPV suicide drones over the past year, Russian troops, some with experience from Syria, began to use shotguns, mostly versions of Klashinkov’s fully-automatic Saiga-12, as a last line of defense.
While electronic warfare means will remain the first line of defense against drones, the new specially designed cartridges will likely increase the effectiveness of shotguns used in this role.
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it has to be shocking to the west, that russia has performed so poorly.
thats what russia wants then to think, yes they had a learning curve and some kinks to iron out but the bulk of fighters on front lines are non professional soldiers who are now becoming professional each day they live. even if you look at missiles and amo used, its all old stock, they are saving and reserving tge best for nato incursion coming up. only ill informed people are pheasants like you.
russian military has been proven themselves pretty much worthless. they are not professional. no motivation. no logistics. no any plans. no leadership. no professional communication for the wartime.
if anyone shows initiative they disappear or blow up in a grenade accident
“ukraine military has been proven themselves pretty much worthless. they are not professional. no motivation. no logistics. no any plans. no leadership. no professional communication for the wartime.” there, fixed it for you 🫠
yet they are defeating all of nato, single handedly, almost. so the collective west is pretty much worse than worthless?
tell that to the dead ukie orcs who lost land and are loosing land each day
basically, the russians’ problem is not a lack of soldiers. it’s a lack of basic military skills, especially among officers, and a lack of modern equipment. raising a huge number of poorly trained soldiers would not improve the situation.
lack of secure radio communications, lack of a satellite constellation, lack of awacs, lack of competent commanders, and strange fawning politics. it certainly is a mess
who is terrorizing its population by forced conscription kidnappings? picking up the 15yo delivery boy and the 67yo bread maker? the housewife? ridiculous trolling attempts by a bunch of clowns
more projection i see.
i will always remember the heroic syrian arab army.
freaking damn lgbt uncle sam peon/bots, trolls 🧌 on here, smh 🤦
one of these big humiliations russia faced was when ukraine destroyed 30% of russian black sea fleet without using its own (relatively small) navy at all. there must huge problems inside russian military, not just inside army but sea and air power too.
most of the so called ukrainian navy went home & joined the russian.
russian soldiers are still using soviet era paper maps to find out where they are. that’s why poor navigation is leading also to terrible own losses.
once trump heard of this, he immediately included tungsten in his rare earth list and insisted front line troops begin recovering pellets from the battleground and shipping them to us steel.
but why not depleted uranium? ukraine could hardly complain.
what’s going on here? is nafo fielding its dwindling reverses in hopes of stemming the embarrassment of a collapsing ukraine?
ivan’s special looting operation does not work very well.
anti-drone 12 ga shotgun underbarrel systems should be implemented across most infantry.
ukrops doing inverted reality on sf, ukraine is winning, west is sane, night is day, etc…
russia has lost 160,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured or missing during first 4 months of 2025. losses are now even bigger than in 2024. one of the reasons is demise of russian armoured forces and using consripts with less than month of battle training. 2024 was bad to russia, 2025 looks even worse.
same old narrative, because people like you don’t have the brain cells to come up with another. russia is defeating the collective west in spectacular fashion. you are butt hurt over this, so you have to project and lie.
sounds like your an expert on re regurgitation of cnn and kiev tomorrow news