On March 14, 2026, a squadron of Apache attack helicopters intercepted four Outlaw drones over wooded terrain near Nuremberg. The Apache used 30‑mm steel practice rounds and knocked every target down in a single sortie.
The Outlaw drones, with a 3.3‑m wingspan, mirror the size of Iranian Shahed and Russian Geran‑4 models that have repeatedly slipped past U.S. air defenses. Unlike live munitions, the steel rounds allowed the pilots to practice against realistic drone silhouettes.
Chief Warrant Officer Jarrad Walter, who flew 120 missions in Afghanistan, said, "If we had our go‑to‑war load, it would be a lot easier. These are just steel rounds." Chief Warrant Officer Michael Weisskopf added, "It's not easy compared to what the Apache usually does, which is air‑to‑ground." The exercise follows the loss of an Apache over the Strait of Hormuz in June, where the helicopter was shot down by a Shahed drone.
Army planners view the 30‑mm cannon as a low‑cost counter to drone swarms, but the Apache’s top speed limits its use against newer jet‑propelled variants. The results will feed into the next procurement cycle and may prompt the addition of a dedicated drone‑countering module to the Apache fleet.