[Animats]

There are a number of bulky systems intended for larger targets which will work against drones, but most are not very portable. Ship-mounted systems such as CWIS do work.[1] But all those shells that don't hit the target land someplace.

[1] https://youtu.be/3UVuV5WvraQ

[nradov]

The land based CIWS uses self destructing shells so any that didn't hit the target explode into small, relatively safe fragments. But it's still risky to use in populated areas

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/36412/centurions-roari...

[mLuby]

> But all those shells that don't hit the target land someplace.

Just don't miss! It's only a few hundred meters out.

Oh CWIS are only ship-mounted? I thought it was a general term. I like PDC better anyway. #TheExpanse

Nice video—are those all tracers though?

[sbierwagen]

The land-based version of CIWS is called Centurion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phalanx_CIWS#Centurion_C-RAM

C-RAM shells are supposed to self-destruct, but EOD guys will tell you that fuzes do not have a 100% operational rate. Another problem is cost and magazine size:

>The Block 1A and newer (pneumatic driven) CIWS mounts fire at a rate of 4,500 rounds per minute with a 1,550-round magazine.

>Shells fired by the Phalanx cost around $30 each and the gun typically fires 100 or more when engaging a target.[14]

So it's about three grand to zap one drone, and you get 15 shootdowns before a human needs to shovel more ammo into the turret. That would make it vulnerable to a saturation attack. A hundred drones carrying grenades that home in on the CIWS radar would be tough to counter.

[ericd]

> Nice video—are those all tracers though?

Well, it's video game footage (ARMA 3, according to the title).