Amid a surge in low-cost, weaponized drones targeting U.S. troops abroad, the Pentagon is ramping up its efforts to protect forces from the growing threat of aerial attacks. While expensive munitions, advanced directed energy weapons, and an expanding fleet of military drones are among the options on the table, a new, simpler solution is gaining attention: reinventing the gun.
At the Technology Readiness Experimentation (T-REX) event in August, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) showcased a cutting-edge, AI-powered autonomous gun system designed to combat drone threats with unparalleled precision. Developed by the fledgling defense contractor Allen Control Systems (ACS), the system, dubbed “Bullfrog,” is a robotic gun mounted with a 7.62-mm M240 machine gun, designed to deliver small arms fire with superior accuracy compared to conventional firearms like the M4 carbine or the new XM7 rifle.
The Bullfrog, mounted on a specially designed rotating turret, is equipped with an electro-optical sensor and proprietary AI-powered computer vision software. During tests, the system demonstrated its ability to track and target small drones, knocking them out of the sky with just a few well-placed shots. ACS published footage showing the Bullfrog locking onto drones with remarkable precision, impressing DoD officials with its effectiveness.
Alex Lovett, the deputy assistant secretary of defense for prototyping and experimentation within the Pentagon’s Research and Engineering office, confirmed the system’s success, calling the Bullfrog a “low-cost” solution that performed exceptionally well during testing. Should the Pentagon adopt the Bullfrog, it would mark the introduction of the first publicly known lethal autonomous weapon in the U.S. military’s arsenal, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Pentagon has yet to comment on the matter.
Shooting down small, fast-moving drones with conventional firearms is a difficult task, even for the most skilled marksman. To address this, the U.S. military has been exploring a variety of counter-drone technologies, including small- to medium-caliber ammunition, radio frequency and GPS jammers, and smart optics that can lock onto drone targets. In some cases, systems like the “Dronebuster” or “NightFighter” have been deployed, but they often require soldiers to carry additional, bulky counter-drone equipment.
For ACS co-founder Steve Simoni, the key to solving the drone defense problem wasn’t adding more accessories or relying on enhanced training, but instead using advanced robotics and AI to automate the targeting and tracking process. Simoni, a former Navy nuclear engineer, was inspired by the proliferation of drones on both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where soldiers resorted to firing AK-47s into the air to hit drones. “We thought, ‘That’s a good robotics problem,'” Simoni says. “It’s hard to hit something flying that fast, but a robot can do that with modern-day computer vision and AI control algorithms.”
While smart optics like SmartShooter’s SMASH fire control system also use AI to track targets, Simoni argues that keeping a rifle aimed at a fast-moving drone is a greater challenge than even the most advanced scopes can solve. The Bullfrog’s solution is to take humans out of the equation entirely, allowing a sophisticated robotic system to maintain a steady aim on an incoming drone, regardless of battlefield chaos.
Simoni and his co-founder, Luke Allen, who is also a Navy veteran, designed the Bullfrog to be precise and adaptable. “To hit a fast drone that’s accelerating at five Gs, you need incredibly high-end current that flows through a motor with encoders that track the position of your gun at all times,” Simoni explains. Traditional handheld firearms, such as the M4, would struggle to meet these demands, but the Bullfrog, at just under 400 pounds, is small enough to be mounted on mobile platforms like the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle, providing agile, flexible protection for moving troops.
Unlike systems like the Navy’s Phalanx Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), which sprays a cloud of bullets, the Bullfrog is designed for pinpoint accuracy, expending minimal ammunition. This allows it to engage multiple drone threats from different angles, creating a layered air defense network. Simoni notes that the Bullfrog is so precise, it has sometimes been referred to internally as a “mini-CIWS,” but with much higher accuracy.
The potential of the Bullfrog system doesn’t stop at its precision. The Pentagon’s current policy on lethal autonomous weapons mandates that humans must remain “in the loop” to approve any engagements. The Bullfrog is designed to follow targets and point its gun at them, but it will not fire until given a human command. However, ACS claims that the system is fully autonomous-capable, and could be deployed in the future to operate without human intervention, freeing up soldiers to focus on other critical tasks.
Brice Cooper, ACS’s chief strategy officer and a Green Beret veteran, emphasizes the system’s future capabilities: “We’re just waiting for the government to determine its needs. Legacy systems in our category are just not there yet.” Cooper believes that the Bullfrog’s autonomous capabilities could revolutionize how the military defends against aerial threats, with sentry guns eliminating the need for human intervention in certain scenarios.
As the U.S. military grapples with the rising threat of weaponized drones, innovations like the Bullfrog offer a promising solution that balances cutting-edge AI with practical defense needs. While fully autonomous systems are still years away from widespread deployment, the Bullfrog represents a crucial step forward in automated, precision defense systems that could reshape the future of military operations and counter-drone strategies. With its combination of robotics, AI, and precision weaponry, the Bullfrog may soon become a critical tool in the Pentagon’s arsenal against the growing threat of drones.
By Impact Lab
