The German Federal Ministry of Defense has granted the Bavarian company Donaustahl a license to produce 100 small quadcopters with an “on-board gun”.

This was reported by SPIEGEL.

Currently, it is a production for initial testing, not a full-fledged procurement program. However, the company’s director, Stefan Thumann, calls the production permit “an important milestone.” Donaustahl will begin production of the drones in April and hand them over to the Bundeswehr in May.

After that, the quadcopters will be tested at the Bundeswehr Institute for Defense Sciences. This will test how well they can fight hovering enemy drones with onboard weapons.

The permit also allows for the creation of 50 grenade launchers that can be mounted under larger drones and will be equipped with “standard NATO ammunition.”

In Ukraine, Donaustahl is known for supplying MAUS drones to the Kraken, a separate reconnaissance and sabotage unit of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine.

MAUS quadcopters are designed as a versatile platform capable of performing both reconnaissance and strike missions.

MAUS is designed as an FPV drone. It is described as a “fully modular, cost-effective, reliable and easy-to-operate platform” designed to require minimal operator training. It is known that it can carry a payload of up to 2.7 kg and has a range of 5 to 7 km.

Drones with shotguns

It is known that as of spring 2025, at least two units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are already using small quadcopters with shotguns to destroy enemy Mavic drones. These are the 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade and the Separate Presidential Brigade.

In particular, to create an interceptor drone, the soldiers of the Presidential Brigade adapted the LUCKY STRIKE FPV bomber and installed two shotguns specially designed for this task.

The design of the shotgun is made according to the dynamojet scheme and provides compensation for recoil when firing, which increases the accuracy of shooting from the drone.

In addition, it is known that the Ukrainian company Sky Defenders has developed an airplane-type drone with a 4-barrel shotgun to intercept Zala reconnaissance drones.