Slovenia tests ASGARD anti-drone turret with M134D Gatling gun

Slovenian company Valhalla Turrets has finished several days of live-fire testing of its ASGARD counter-drone turret armed with a Dillon Aero M134D 7.62 mm Gatling gun, firing thousands of rounds during the trials, the company said on social media.

The Slovenian Armed Forces organized the tests, and the Slovenian Ministry of Defense is funding the turret’s development.

Valhalla said the tests showed ASGARD can engage all types of drones at short and medium ranges. The company designed the turret to protect military convoys and critical infrastructure as an extra layer of defense against drones.

ASGARD is a remote-controlled air defense turret, meaning the crew operates the gun from inside a vehicle or a protected position, using cameras and sensors instead of standing behind the weapon.

The M134D is a six-barrel, electrically driven Gatling gun built by Arizona-based Dillon Aero. It fires standard 7.62 mm rifle ammunition at about 3,000 rounds per minute, a rate that puts a dense cloud of bullets in front of a small, fast-moving drone. The gun is widely used on U.S. military helicopters and boats.

Valhalla showed ASGARD at the Eurosatory defense exhibition in Paris in June, describing it as a midweight turret for air and ground defense that can be mounted on platforms including 4×4 vehicles. In its counter-drone configuration, the company paired the turret with a HENSOLDT SPEXER radar and electro-optical sensors to detect and track aerial targets, and said missile launchers can be fitted on both sides.

The company has built several turrets around anti-drone guns. Its MIDGARD 134 remote weapon station, also armed with the M134D, entered delivery this year with up to 3,000 rounds ready to fire. Valhalla has also armed its larger Skythunder drone killer system with a 20 mm three-barrel Gatling gun and laser-guided missiles. Slovenia has also armed its Patria 8×8 vehicles with an anti-drone turret, part of a growing line of Valhalla Turrets systems for the Slovenian military.

ASGARD remains a research and development project funded by the Slovenian Ministry of Defense, with the live-fire trials carried out alongside the Slovenian Armed Forces.