Drone-delivered bunker-busting warhead tested by U.S. Army
NewsApril 23, 2026
REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama. The U.S. Army tested a drone-delivered warhead designed to penetrate bunker targets during a live-fire demonstration at Redstone Arsenal in March, the Army announced in a statement.
The system, called the bunker rupture and kinetic explosive round, was developed for use on a small uncrewed aerial system, the statement reads. According to the Army, the project was led by the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center and Project Manager Close Combat Systems.
The Army says the test followed a rapid development effort that moved from concept and prototyping to live-fire in a matter of weeks. Engineers began work in early March, handling design, explosive pressing, housing production, and integration of the warhead onto a low-cost one-way attack drone, the statement says.
Transfer and compatibility testing took place at Picatinny Arsenal before about a dozen warheads were assembled, with one used against a bunker target, according to the statement. After those initial evaluations, prototype warheads were sent to Redstone Arsenal for the demonstration.
The Army states that the effort also relied on additive manufacturing and used the Picatinny Common Lethality Integration Kit to connect lethal payloads with drone platforms.
