A photo of a Ukrainian special forces soldier, likely taken in a combat zone, recently appeared online. What makes this image stand out is that the soldier is holding a carbine with an American-made M26 underbarrel shotgun attached to it. What kind of weapon this is and why underbarrel shotguns might be of interest in the context of the current conflict will be discussed below.
Underbarrel shotguns have made their way to the
Special Operations Forces. A photo of a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces soldier has prompted this discussion of underbarrel shotguns. So far, this is the only photographic evidence that our opponents are using underbarrel shotguns in Ukraine.
Since the late 1980s, thanks to Hollywood, we’ve come to know what an underbarrel shotgun is. Remember the scene from the 1987 movie *Predator*: Billy Sol, played by Sonny Landham, is holding a rifle with an underbarrel shotgun attached. However, the filmmakers pulled a fast one here—they didn’t use a real underbarrel system, but instead attached a full-size Mossberg 500 shotgun to the rifle after removing its stock. Even without a stock or ammunition, this shotgun weighs more than two kilograms, so it remains to be seen how feasible this would be in real-life conditions. But this is just Hollywood, and the magic of cinema works wonders here.
In 1999, an underbarrel shotgun known as the XM-26 LSS (Light Smoothbore System) was submitted for military testing. It was developed by C-More Competition based on the original requirements established by the U.S. Special Operations Command (US SOCOM).
In 2003, a prototype batch of 200 XM-26 units was sent to Afghanistan for testing, where it generally performed well. The system was designated M26 MASS (Modular Assisted Smoothbore System). In 2008, the U.S. Army placed an order for 35,000 M26 MASS units, which was fully fulfilled by 2010.
The M26 MASS weapon systems were designed to be used both as an underbarrel attachment and as a standalone weapon. In the image, you can clearly see the folded reloading handle.
The first thing that comes to mind when you see a Ukrainian Special Operations Forces soldier with an underbarrel shotgun is how useful it is in combating drones, especially FPV drones. Others, such as reconnaissance or civilian drones, fly too high, while heavier ones, like the “Baba Yaga” model, are better taken down by means other than a shotgun.
However, this shotgun was developed before drones as we know them today even existed, and countering such devices was not part of its original design. Back then, drones looked completely different. The M26 is an evolution of the underbarrel shotgun concept from Knight’s Armament Company, known as the Masterkey. The primary purpose of this shotgun is encapsulated in its name—the “master key.” It was designed to quickly force open doors using shotgun shells. In addition, it is used in close-quarters combat—for example, during building sweeps—and as a secondary weapon capable of firing non-lethal rounds. This range of tasks is intended primarily for special operations units, particularly those with a police focus. But that’s not the only point.
In the photo, the M26 is performing one of its key initial tasks—breaching. A soldier from the U.S. Army’s 119th Engineer Company practices bridging techniques during an exercise in Kingwood, West Virginia, on June 2, 2023.
Probably the most important factor here is the barrel length. On the M26, it’s only 197 millimeters. By comparison, the famous IZh-27, which is also used in special operations, has a barrel length of 660 millimeters. And this is the “shortest-barreled” version of this iconic rifle. In essence, when it comes to countering drones, such a system can likely be used only as a “last resort.”
The M26 was originally developed at the request of U.S. Special Operations Command, but over time, the system became widely used even in conventional Army units. The photo shows a U.S. Army soldier conducting live-fire training with the M26. Note the large flame erupting from the barrel upon firing, which is due to its short length. The targets are located at a considerable distance, especially considering that the rifle has a very short barrel. However, the ammunition used consists of bullets and buckshot, not shotgun shells.
In addition, the M26 is equipped with a longitudinally sliding bolt. Reloading is not done like a pump-action shotgun—by moving the forend—but using a handle that protrudes directly from the bolt. This doesn’t look very convenient. Any hunter or experienced shooter will confirm that, with sufficient skill and practice, a pump-action shotgun can be fired very quickly, even at moving targets. However, how quickly a soldier could fire with such a manual reloading system—especially at a flying or moving target—remains to be seen.
In 2020, a member of the U.S. Army Reserve participated in M26 shotgun firing exercises. The photograph shows the moment of reloading, when the spent shell casing is ejected. Note that to reload the assault rifle, the soldier must move his hand away from the stock—which is used to steady the weapon—pull the bolt back by the handle, then close it so that a new round from the magazine enters the chamber, and only then return the hand to its original position to stabilize the weapon. This raises the question of whether such a manual reloading system allows for rapid and accurate fire at fast-moving aerial targets at close range. This remains an open question.
Self-loading mechanisms or a longer barrel could be the solution, but this raises issues with weight and size. An unloaded M26 weighs the same as an unloaded M230 underbarrel grenade launcher, since these specifications were incorporated into the design requirements. Any self-loading system would be heavier, and lengthening the barrel would increase the weight and alter the balance of the primary weapon.
An example of an underbarrel shotgun with a fairly long barrel is the SIX12, manufactured by the well-known company Crye Precision. However, the question arises: to what extent are the weight and size of such an underbarrel shotgun commensurate with the tasks it is intended to perform?
Perhaps such a long-barreled weapon system could be more effective against drones when using specialized ammunition. We’re talking about cartridges in which the shot pellets are bound together with strong synthetic threads. According to open sources, our troops have already used such ammunition in the Special Military Operation zone, and it has proven highly effective. This idea is not new. Hunters have long used thread-bound buckshot to increase their effective range. However, in this case, the primary striking element is the thread itself. In the summer of 2024, reports emerged that the Tekhkrim plant in Izhevsk was ready to begin mass production of such cartridges.
Special anti-drone munitions from Tekhkrim, LLC, announced in the summer of 2024. Several private manufacturers in the United States already offer munitions with a similar design.
Work on underbarrel shotguns is also underway here in our country. Admittedly, it’s done on a small scale, unofficially, and the initiative for such developments comes from the grassroots. Almost all of the designs that have been featured in the media are single-shot, single-barrel homemade shotguns. Essentially, they’re just a tube that fires 12-gauge cartridges. The reliability of such a shotgun is low, it takes a long time to reload, and it seems it might demonstrate at least some effectiveness if there were even just a few such designs in a small unit. Major domestic manufacturers have not yet shown any interest in underbarrel shotguns.
There was also this one. It’s the RTS-SBS-12 underbarrel shotgun from the American manufacturer Red Jacket Firearms. Essentially, it’s a “Saiga-12” imported into the U.S. from Russia, stripped of all non-essential parts. This system was designed exclusively for police special forces, again with a focus primarily on breaching (a muzzle device with extended spikes, specifically designed to literally dig into wooden doors), and it never really gained much popularity in the U.S.
An underbarrel shotgun is, in and of itself, a rather specialized piece of equipment. It was designed for a very narrow range of tasks and, as a result, never became widely used. Be that as it may, it could be useful on the battlefield for certain tasks—but not on its own, only in combination with other weapons.
Here is an example of the ingenuity of our soldiers in the Ukrainian conflict zone. A homemade single-shot shotgun has been attached to an AK-12. Unfortunately, such designs are not very effective and are created out of necessity.
Source — https://topwar.ru/256607-podstvolnye-droboviki-dobralis-do-svo.html
