Camilla Jessen
For the first time on record, a Ukrainian Avenger air defense unit took down a Russian drone using an M2 Browning heavy machine gun — and it was caught on video.
Ukrainian air defense teams have shot down a Russian Shahed drone using a Browning .50-caliber machine gun — and it’s believed to be the first time this has ever been caught on camera.
The strike happened on the night of April 2, 2025, and the video was shared by Ukraine’s Air Force Southern Command.
The footage, filmed through night vision, shows the moment the drone was spotted, tracked, and then hit by gunfire from a U.S.-supplied Avenger air defense system.
The video was picked up by open-source intelligence account OSINTtechnical, who confirmed it’s the first known recording of this type of shootdown.
In a statement, Ukraine’s Odesa Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade said they destroyed 10 Russian drones that night — including several Shahed drones, which are used as loitering “kamikaze” drones.
While most drones are usually shot down with missiles or blocked using electronic tools, this one was brought down the old-fashioned way — with bullets.
The Avenger system is a mobile air defense unit built on a Humvee truck. It usually carries Stinger missiles and a .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun.
What’s special about this case is that the Browning used was an aircraft version, which fires much faster — up to 1,200 rounds per minute, double the speed of the regular version.
That speed made it possible to hit and destroy the fast-moving Shahed drone using just machine gun fire, guided by the Avenger’s targeting system.
The Avenger system has been around since the 1980s, but in Ukraine, it’s proving to still be useful. It’s light, mobile, and good for protecting soldiers from drones and low-flying threats.