Ukrainian soldiers were spotted with HATSAN’s BTS-12 bullpup mag-fed shotguns, seemingly utilising them against incoming UAVs.
HATSAN CEO Bahtiyar Taşyağan told Defense Here that 4000 units have been delivered to Ukraine and another 6000 will be delivered. He underlined that the BTS-12 was tested in Ukraine before the major order.
BTS-12 can be equipped with a 20” barrel, which seems to be the case with the shotguns used by Ukrainian personnel. The bullpup layout allows for a more compact build than a traditional layout of the same barrel length.
In BTS-12’s case, the centre of gravity being closer to the shooter makes moving the gun around when aiming easier.
It is important to be able to react quickly against incoming kamikaze UAVs, as there is little time after the moment of notice.
Due to spreading pellets rather than shooting a single bullet, shotguns are being explored as a short-term solution against small but fragile kamikaze UAVs, often hand-made or derived from civilian types. However, early warning on foot against these threats remains an issue for the infantry units.
Ukraine Uses Turkish Semi-Auto Shotguns
