US defense giant Northrop Grumman announced the successful completion of a series of tests of its new development – a miniature Ax bomb. Weighing only 3 kg, this ammunition is designed to arm drones and, despite its size, has its own semi-active guided laser head.

The US Department of Defense was interested in developing such ammunition, which at least financed the tests themselves. It is noted that during the tests, all the ammunition showed 100% accuracy and “settled” within a certain 2-meter circle. There is also a promotional video explaining Hatchet’s features.

According to Janes, Northrop Grumman said: “Development of the munitions is now complete and Hatchet is ready to use the platform and certify any unmanned or manned air system.” Said. It is worth noting that the development of such a mini-munitions concept began in 2012 as simple, high-precision and inexpensive weapons for relatively light UAVs.

Especially in the promotional video, it is possible to easily detect the UAV, which may be the carrier of the Hatchet – RQ-7B Shadow. This is a relatively small drone that can easily lift four 3-pound Axes in special containers. Therefore, the only important condition for a UAV to use a Hatchet is the presence of a laser backlight target.

It should be noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine is now very interested in using such simple and high-precision weapon systems. At a minimum, such weapons can be extremely effective against enemy light armored vehicles, including self-propelled artillery systems, as well as conventional weapons. Source