Marines to get new anti-drone round for M4 and M27 rifles
Marines will get a new type of ammunition that can be fired from their M4 carbines and M27 Infantry Automatic Rifles and is designed to help them shoot down small drones, a Marine Corps acquisition spokesperson said.
The Drone Round 5.56 L Variant separates into five distinct projectiles after being fired to provide shooters with a better chance of hitting small drones, according to Drone Round, the company that makes the ammunition.
So far, the Marine Corps has bought 400,000 of the rounds, and it intends to purchase another 1 million cartridges in fiscal year 2027, which begins on Oct. 1, the spokesperson told Task & Purpose.
A Marine fires an M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle during training to counter small drones at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms, California, on July 17, 2026. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Cody Fitzgerald.
The Marines have begun delivering the cartridges to ammunition supply points, said the spokesperson, who added that all the deliveries are expected to be completed in September.
Marine Expeditionary Force commanders will decide which units will receive the anti-drone round first, the spokesperson said.
The L Variant meets the Marine Corps’ requirement for a commercially available option that can disable or destroy smaller reconnaissance and attack drones, said the spokesperson, who added that the Marines tested the anti-drone round in several user evaluations before fielding the ammunition.
The War Zone reported in June that the Marine Corps had announced that it intended to buy the anti-drone round. Separately, soldiers with the 18th Airborne Corps tested the ammunition against small drones in April at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
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