China has unveiled the world's first close-in anti-drone barrage weapon system, which will be targeted against multiple drones and high-speed missiles, The South China Morning Post reported on Friday (Apr 11), citing the developer of the drone. This groundbreaking innovation has apparently been made by China's state-run defence firm Norinco.

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The system is called the Bullet Curtain, which has a unique "plane-to-point" interception method. As per the report, it created a wall of projectiles to blanket incoming targets with overlapping firepower.

It also has radar, an optical detection system, a fire-control system, an integrated management system and ammunition with the platform.  

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"Imagine the target is a fly. The traditional air-defence interception is like throwing stones at the fly continuously … and now the barrage system is like swinging a fly swatter, which covers the entire area where the fly may move," Yu Bin, the chief designer of the system, said in the report.

“While traditional air-defence weapons only hit at a single point, we are building a canopy capable of countering a saturation attack,” he said.

As per the developer, the system was inspired by Metal Storm, which is a rapid-fire weapon concept jointly developed by Australia and the United States in the late 1990s. 

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'Serial and parallel ammunition'

SCMP report said that the barrage system features a 4x4 tight arrangement of 35mm gun barrels for various types of ammunition. It aims to deliver an unprecedented rate of fire while maintaining quick reload capabilities. 

The report further stated that the system fires 35mm advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) ammunition that spits hundreds of sub-projectiles each to form a barrage against drones. 

Yu said the team had developed new "serial and parallel ammunition" for larger and faster targets, such as missiles. As per the report, the system has been fitted on a 6x6 truck and configured as a road-mobile air-defence cover embedded in mechanised units. 

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However, Yu said as per report that its modular design means it can also be integrated with various platforms, including wheeled and tracked armoured vehicles, naval ships and fixed installations, allowing rapid deployment across different combat scenarios while staying compatible with existing military infrastructure. 

Yu, as per report, said that the size and type of the barrage could be adjusted by computer "based on the characteristics of the incoming target, to determine which strategy is to be used and the best way to strike it".

"That is the most significant highlight of this weapon system," he said as quoted. 

Although Metal Storm has stayed in the prototype stage due to practical difficulties, Yu claimed that his team had improved and developed the concept, turning it into a fully functional product that offered inexpensive and extremely effective area air defence.

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According to the report, numerous live tests have demonstrated its efficacy against drone swarms, a crucial capability in contemporary warfare and by taking advantage of their sheer quantity and size, drone swarming presents an unprecedented threat to air defence. 

In a saturation strike, a large number of drones could deplete an adversary's air defence firing and detection capabilities. The enemy's valuable air defence resources are disproportionately used by low-cost drones at the same time. 

"There is an urgent need for an anti-drone weapon that is capable of locking onto and tracking a number of targets at the same time, and of carrying out simultaneous multi-point or area coverage strikes on a number of targets, thus accomplishing massive destruction of drone swarms in the shortest possible time," Yu said as quoted.

"And this barrage weapon, with low-cost, high-efficiency regional air-defence capabilities … is the much-needed air defence system," he added.