Tailored for fighting FPV drones. Active protection from the Austrians

GuardAero is an Austrian startup that has developed a new vehicle active protection system (APS) named APS1. This system is optimised to counter FPV drones carrying various types of warheads, including anti-tank HEAT (High-Explosive Anti-Tank) warheads. During national celebrations on 26 October 2026, the Austrian Armed Forces presented the APS1 system installed on the SP-30 turret, which serves as the armament system for the Ulan (Eng. Uhlan) infantry fighting vehicles based on the ASCOD tracked platform.

The GuardAero APS1 system consists of passive electro-optical sensors providing a 360° field of view around the vehicle. Thanks to this solution, the vehicle is not only harder to detect due to the reduction of electromagnetic emissions, but also electro-optical systems may face fewer difficulties in detecting and correctly classifying FPV drones, which can change their speed and flight direction. The system is also likely characterised by a relatively low weight, allowing for its installation on various types of wheeled and tracked platforms.

The system’s effectors, meanwhile, are based on rotating mounts with smoothbore barrel assemblies that fire shotgun ammunition adapted to neutralise FPV drones. In this regard, it offers interesting possibilities, as it theoretically allows for greater miniaturisation of the effectors, an increase in their number, and potentially the future implementation of some form of reloading system using magazines with a supply of cartridges.

Naturally, the system also has limitations; while it is capable of effectively neutralising relatively fragile FPV drones, it is unknown how it would perform against other threats. Theoretically, HEAT warheads fired from man-portable anti-tank grenade launchers are relatively fragile, but anti-tank guided missiles usually have their warheads positioned further back in the missile body, while HEAT warheads in the form of tank gun projectiles have relatively thick steel casings.

This is precisely why the APS1 may be a system optimised only for countering a single type of threat—FPV drones—and may not be a universal APS capable of providing vehicle protection against the wide spectrum of threats encountered on the battlefield. On the other hand, such systems may be cheaper and more attractive from the perspective that HEAT warheads carried by other delivery means typically follow trajectories that allow them to be neutralised by composite armour and explosive reactive armour.