Poland Creates Four-Barrel Machine Gun 12.7 That Can Shoot Down Drones
- office736978
- Feb 24
- 2 min read
The machine gun has fairly compact dimensions and weighs only 50 kilograms.
Polish state-owned defense company Polish Armaments Group (PGZ) has created a four-barreled 12.7mm WLKM machine gun, which has a stated effective firing range of up to 2,200 meters.
Defense Express believes that given the configuration and characteristics of this type of weapon, it is even strange that no buyers have been found for it yet, because in theory, such a machine gun could literally shoot down enemy UAVs.
The Army Recognition portal reported that Poland's PGZ is currently demonstrating its WLKM at the IDEX 2025 exhibition, which is currently taking place in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
It is noted that the Polish analogue of the "Minigun" was initially created as an element of armament for armored vehicles, ground-based stationary firing points, patrol boats or multi-purpose helicopters. The machine gun has fairly compact dimensions and weighs only 50 kilograms.
"However, now the Poles are positioning their WLKM primarily as an anti-drone weapon, that is, literally as a machine gun with an effective firing range of up to 2,200 meters, from which enemy drones can be shot. Which in turn can be considered an adequate response to the challenge of drone dominance over the battlefield," the experts write.
The WLKM has a rate of fire of 3,600 rounds per minute, uses electrical power to rotate the barrels, and is chambered for the 12.7mm x 99 NATO (.50 BMG) cartridge. Defense Express added:
"On the one hand, the effective firing range of 2,200 meters looks attractive in itself, since for example for the ZU-23-2 the similar indicator is up to 2,500 meters. However, another indicator is missing - the height of the target's destruction, an understanding of which would in turn provide an understanding of how exactly the Polish WLKM could be used to protect against drones in modern battlefield conditions."
Analysts reminded that it is always not only the firepower of a specific fire weapon that matters, but also the situational awareness and data transmission system to which a specific crew of a specific fire weapon is connected.
War in Ukraine - means to shoot down drones
The UK has officially unveiled the Gravehawk air defense missile system, created specifically for Ukraine. It was developed from scratch in just 18 months to counter drones, cruise missiles and aircraft. The project was implemented by a small team at the UK Ministry of Defence - Taskforce Kindred, which is responsible for delivering British weapons and equipment to Ukraine.
This article is based on a report by UNIAN, originally published in Ukrainian. The original author is
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