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Army Tests 3D-Printed Bunker-Buster Warhead on One-Way Drone

The quick-turn effort signals a push toward modular, low-cost strike options delivered by small drones.

Overview

  • A one-way attack drone carrying a prototype BRAKER warhead destroyed a test bunker at Redstone Arsenal on March 26.
  • BRAKER, short for Bunker Rupture and Kinetic Explosive Round, is a small ground‑penetrating warhead built for drone delivery in a 3D‑printed shell.
  • Army leaders said the Picatinny team moved from concept to live fire in two weeks after producing about a dozen prototypes with additive manufacturing.
  • To scale the approach, engineers created the Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit, a universal mount that lets small drones carry different lethal payloads.
  • Officials frame the demo as a new way to hit hardened targets at low altitude with expendable systems that could ease logistics, though no fielding timeline is public.