Slow Shot LLC successfully demonstrated a low-collateral-damage counter-small-UAS (C-sUAS) capability during the Falcon Peak 25.2 event at Eglin Air Force Base, and is reportedly planning to scale production after reaching a technology readiness level appropriate for field trials.
The company, one of six LCD C-sUAS technologies invited to take part in the Chicken Ranch range portion of Falcon Peak 25.2, told C-UAS Hub that it shot down a target UAS during the event and recorded effective hits out to 40 yards.
The engagement used a bespoke shotgun-launched munition with each 2¾-inch cartridge containing 12 brass projectiles fitted with injection-moulded thermoplastic elastomer (TPE) wings.
Slow Shot describes the projectiles as “aero-elastic,” with the wings furled when packed in the cartridge and then deployed as the projectiles slow in flight. This is said to produce drag and an auto-rotation effect intended to keep terminal velocity low and minimise risk to people, infrastructure and sensitive equipment such as radars or aircraft.
The rounds can be fired from any 12-gauge shotgun with a cylindrical bore. The company said the design packs a dozen projectiles into a single cartridge by nesting the wings into slots cut into the projectile bodies.
According to Matthew Searle, Founder of Slow Shot, this packing approach, is said to be critical to achieving both ease of loading and effective spread. Slow Shot reported a maximum ‘fall-of-shot’ of less than 500 feet for the projectiles.
Searle noted that the project moved from concept to a TRL-7 field trial in a little over a year, a notably rapid development timeline, and that the primary idea behind the design of the low collateral damage munition is to keep the level of authorization required to use it as low as possible. Slow Shot is seeking investment in production tooling by year-end to scale manufacturing.
The use case for shotgun-launched, low-velocity subprojectiles is to provide a low-collateral kinetic defeat option that can be employed where high-explosive interceptors or large kinetic interceptors would be inappropriate. Such systems are intended to offer a middle ground between non-kinetic measures such as jamming or spoofing and higher-risk kinetic effects, particularly in environments where bystander safety and infrastructure protection are priorities.
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Post Image Credit: Slow Shot LLC
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