Eight Shotgun Barrels, One Turret: BDT Unveils Automated C-UAS Station | thefirearmblog.com
AI Analysis
Beretta Defense Technologies (BDT) is developing LIVET, an automated, eight-barrel remote weapon station utilizing shotgun-based counter-UAS technology. The system, developed with DUALEE, employs the Benelli Drone Guardian shotgun and specialized AD-LER tungsten shot ammunition to counter drone swarms and quadcopters. LIVET is slated for unveiling at Eurosatory 2026 and represents a shift towards automated, fixed-site C-UAS defense.
Key Takeaways
- LIVET utilizes eight Benelli M4-A1 shotguns in a remotely controlled weapon station (RCWS).
- The system employs specialized AD-LER ammunition with 2.7mm tungsten shot designed for optimal drone engagement.
- BDT highlights the system’s rapid reaction time as crucial for countering FPV drone swarms.
- The development builds upon BDT’s existing Drone Guardian program, scaling it for broader application.
- Collaboration between BDT and DUALEE demonstrates a trend of partnerships in C-UAS development.
Why It Matters
The LIVET system represents a novel approach to kinetic C-UAS, addressing the challenges of engaging small, fast-moving drones. Its automated nature and multi-barrel configuration could provide a significant defensive capability for critical infrastructure and fixed sites, potentially reducing reliance on skilled operators. This development signals a growing market for specialized, automated C-UAS solutions.
Eight Shotgun Barrels, One Turret: BDT Unveils Automated C-UAS Station | thefirearmblog.com
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Eight Shotgun Barrels, One Turret: BDT Unveils Automated C-UAS Station
by Eric B (IC: employee)
Beretta Defense Technologies plans to make Eurosatory 2026 its coming-out party for LIVET, an eight-barrel remote-controlled weapon station built around the kinetic counter-drone logic that has driven the BDT group's C-UAS (Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems) development for the past several years. The platform mounts no less than eight Benelli Drone Guardian shotgun systems on a single automated turret capable of tracking and engaging drone targets without requiring an operator to physically aim the weapon.
Anti-Drone Shotguns @ TFB:
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- DSEI 2025: Counter Drone Shotguns
LIVET was developed through a collaboration between Beretta Defense Technologies and Italian technology company DUALEE, and represents the industrialization of the shotgun-based counter-drone approach Benelli has been refining through the Drone Guardian program, now scaled into a multi-barrel, remotely operated configuration suited for fixed-site and critical infrastructure protection.
The underlying logic of putting shotguns on a C-UAS turret rather than conventional automatic weapons comes down to geometry. Small drones present a difficult targeting problem for rifle or machine gun fire because they are small, fast, and maneuverable, and hitting them with a single aimed projectile under pressure is genuinely difficult for human operators. A shotgun's spread pattern changes that equation at short to medium range, and the Drone Guardian platform was designed to push that envelope further with purpose-built ammunition.
The system consists of the shotgun, associated sighting, and a specific cartridge developed by Norma Precision, also part of the BDT group, with the shotgun itself based on the Benelli M4-A1 self-loading, 12-gauge, magazine-fed platform.
The ammunition component is the purposely developed AD-LER round, standing for Anti-Drone Long Effective Range. It hosts 2.7 mm diameter tungsten shot that leaves the barrel at 405 m/s, exploiting the rifle chamber's capacity to withstand 1,320-bar pressure.
LIVET takes that proven individual weapon and multiplies it. With eight Drone Guardian systems integrated into a single RCWS featuring auto-tracking and remote engagement capabilities, the platform shifts from a last-ditch individual tool into a layered, automated site-defense asset. BDT says the system is designed to deliver extremely rapid reaction times suited to current operational C-UAS scenarios, which in practice means the kind of FPV swarm and quadcopter threats that have defined drone warfare in recent conflicts.
BDT has been steadily expanding its C-UAS footprint across multiple companies within the group. LIVET slots into that architect