The Marines Have a New Way to Kill Drones
Small FPV drones have become one of the biggest threats to infantry on the modern battlefield. To help counter them, the U.S. Marine Corps is fielding a new 5.56 round designed specifically to shoot down small unmanned aerial systems.
In this video, we look at how the new Drone Round 5.56 L Variant works, why the Marines chose it, how it compares to shotguns, and what questions remain about how these rounds will actually be used in Marine squads and platoons.
00:00 - What is the drone round?
02:08 - What about shotguns?
03:18 - How will Marines use the Drone Round?
05:35 - Doctrine and TTPs
07:07 - Drone Round’s place in the defense layers
Drone Round story: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marines-drone-round/
New Marine drone units: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marine-drone-organizations-2026/
SMASH 2000 story: https://taskandpurpose.com/news/marines-drone-optic-2026/
Recorded on: August 3, 2026
Written/Edited by: Kyle Gunn
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