Ukraine’s 5.56 mm ‘Pea Bullet’ to drop Russian drones from the sky at 50 metres

Drones are now the leading cause of death and injury between Russia and Ukraine. New threats mean new counter-measures, with some old, simple but effective tricks. Carrying large equipment by soldiers fighting in small squads will be counter-productive, hence Ukraine decided to introduce ‘Horshok’, the Drone killer or the Pea Bullet. The 5.56 mm round breaks into pellets midair, allowing soldiers to shoot down drones using their existing rifles without carrying extra weapons. With Horoshok rounds, an M4 or CZ Bren rifle becomes dual-purpose: one mag for enemy troops, another for hostile drones.

Brave-1, Ukraine's government-backed Defence innovation grant program, published a video on June 30 showing the bullets at live-fire tests.

The concept behind the design is that it uses a segmented projectile, ie multiple sub-projectiles like pellets instead of a single solid bullet. The cartridge is compatible with all standard 5.56 platforms with one important caveat: that no suppressor or flash rider should be used, as it increases the chance of it getting stuck inside.

With a rapid velocity of the sub-projectiles at 800 metres per second, the impact of the Horshok is effective against robust FPV drones at distances up to 50–60 metres. But there is a catch. A typical smoothbore cartridge might release 30–40 grams of shot. Horoshok delivers more than 4–5 pellets, so a single round is not enough to bring down a drone at range. At least 8-10 rounds are required in quick succession to bring down a drone at a range of 50–60 meters.

Ukraine plans to equip every frontline soldier with at least one full mag of Horoshok rounds. Production is already scaling up, intending to standardise anti-drone firepower across its infantry.

“The manufacturer has already codified this development (i.e., it has been codified by the Defence Ministry – Ed.). Our shared goal is for every infantryman to have a magazine of these rounds and be able to load them into their rifle in the event of an aerial threat,” said Brave 1 in a post