According to a recent Yle report (https://yle.fi/a/74-20215108), Finland is leaning into its "Total Defense" model to tackle the modern drone threat.
Instead of relying solely on million-euro missiles to down a €500 Mavic drone, the authorities are looking at a more cost-effective, decentralized solution: Shotguns.
The highlights:
- Hunter Reserve: Finland has over 500,000 licensed shotguns. That’s a massive, pre-trained "anti-drone" force already spread across the country.
- Effectiveness: At short range, a shotgun’s spread is significantly more reliable for hitting a small, fast-moving drone than a standard assault rifle.
- Low Cost: Birdshot is cheap; Patriot missiles are not.
- The "Store of Pen" logic: It’s a very pragmatic "bring your own gear" approach to national security.
It feels peak Finnish to realize that if you can hit a fast-moving teal in a swamp, you can probably take out a Russian quadcopter over a power plant.
[Wait, What? Category: 113 Cannons]
https://i.redd.it/psvo7kwoatqg1.png
Posted by sjpheikkinen
8 Comments
I thought that Ukraine already concluded that shotguns are a bit so-so when it comes to taking down drones as the pebbles have limited stopping power against the drones.
This strategy is very well known, and used. It’s not “peak Finnish”.
It also doesn’t work as well its made out to be (here). Its better than anything else a single human could realistically be equipped with, but your chances are still not good.
The article says nothing about shotguns. It says you can take a military weapon with you if you have one.
Quit talking shit.
There’s 8 private individuals with rocket launchers?! How do I become the 9:th?
WTF is this ChatGPT slop? Nobody’s using a Patriot missile to take down an FPV drone. And the article doesn’t say anything about using those shotguns for drone defense nor can it be really taken into any serious anti-drone strategy as even champion skeet shooters can’t reliably hit a speeding drone.
This doesn’t really have anything to do with drones or shotguns. They’re just officially allowing reservists to bring in their own weapons if called to service even though it has been an unofficial instruction for a while now.
Only 113 privately owned howitzers? Then how about “powerful air weapon“, does it also include privately owned 88 mm anti air cannons?
Million euro missiles to down a mavic? Wut? Not all drones are created equal, Shaheds are no mavics and, while using patriots to destroy those is monetarily not a good deal either, you aren’t downing a shahed with a shotgun.
As for using shotguns to destroy repurposed commercial fpvs, both Russians and Ukranians had been doing it for ages.