Slovenian firm arms drone killer systems with Gatling gun

Slovenian turret maker Valhalla Turrets is preparing a new version of its Skythunder air defense system armed with General Dynamics Land Systems’ 20 mm M197 Gatling gun and 70 mm laser-guided rockets, designed to shoot down drones and protect critical infrastructure.

The company announced the system as “coming soon” in a social media post and released renders showing the turret mounted on a 6×6 Oshkosh truck chassis from the U.S. military’s Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, the same type of truck that carries the U.S. Army’s HIMARS rocket launcher.

The three-barrel M197 is the cannon carried in the nose turret of U.S. Marine Corps AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters, and Valhalla says it will give the new Skythunder high-volume fire against drones and other low-flying targets. The 70 mm laser-guided rockets add a longer-reach option for targets beyond the gun’s effective range, giving the system what the company describes as layered kinetic effects across different distances.

According to Valhalla, the system will have full 360-degree radar coverage, use its sensors to find and track targets, and plug into wider layered air defense networks. The company describes it as mobile and modular, and says it is meant to provide cost-effective protection against large numbers of drones.

The new Skythunder adds a lighter gun option to a family Valhalla introduced this year. At Eurosatory in Paris in June 2026, the company showed the Skythunder 300 on a Mercedes-Benz Zetros 8×8 truck, armed with a Northrop Grumman MK44S Bushmaster 30 mm cannon, a separate rotating station with a 7.62 mm M134D Gatling gun and Arnold Defense laser-guided rockets. Valhalla also builds the MANGART 25 AD short-range air defense turret, which it unveiled on a Patria 8×8 vehicle for Slovenia in May 2026.

Its turrets are also turning up abroad. Azerbaijani defense company Zireh unveiled the HMS30 mobile air defense system at ADEX 2026 in Baku, built around a Valhalla Turrets turret with an electro-optical sighting system and two Russian-designed 30 mm 2A42 cannons. Zireh says the HMS30 can engage drones at about 1.5 to 2 km (0.9 to 1.2 miles).

Valhalla, based in Ljubljana, specializes in remote-controlled turrets and weapon stations and works as a development partner for several larger European defense companies. In August 2026, General Dynamics European Land Systems integrated a Valhalla turret into its ASCOD tracked combat vehicle.

Gun-based systems have become a major part of drone defense in Europe since the war in Ukraine showed how many cheap drones an army may need to shoot down, often with interceptor missiles that cost far more than their targets.