Counter-UAS / September 2026

Derya MAX Selected as the Kinetic Gun for Drone Counter-UAS System

Two Derya MAX 12-gauge semi-automatics sit on the turret of Drone Kalkanı, a close-range system built to stop the FPV and fiber-optic drones that jamming cannot.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Derya Arms announced today that its Derya MAX 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun is the firearm used on Drone Kalkanı ("Drone Shield"), a close-range counter-unmanned aircraft system developed in Türkiye for mini and micro drones, including FPV and fiber-optic-controlled aircraft that electronic jamming cannot stop.

Two Derya MAX shotguns are mounted side-by-side on a pan-tilt turret and fire together to put a metal cloud across the drone's flight path. The MAX is manufactured by Derya Arms in Jacksonville, Florida, and is the anti-drone gun on the system.

The System

A Physical Shot, Not a Signal

Reporting from Anadolu Agency and Turkish defense outlets describes Drone Kalkanı as a compact, vehicle-mountable last-layer defense against cheap, fast aerial threats. Fiber-optic FPV drones keep flying when radio jammers, GPS spoofing, and other soft-kill tools fail. That is why the system is built around a physical shot, not a signal.

Published system details include:

Turaç General Manager Fatih Altunbaş, quoted in Anadolu Agency coverage, put the problem in six seconds: an FPV can close at roughly 112 miles per hour, or about 75 miles per hour with a munition attached. Once it is seen, the remaining time to act is about six seconds. The system is built to scan, classify, slew, and fire without waiting on a manual cue.

Derya's Role

The Gun on the Turret

Derya Arms supplies the two 12-gauge Derya MAX semi-automatic shotguns that sit on the turret and do the killing. That is the company's piece of the stack: a reliable, high-capacity 12-gauge platform that can throw a dense pattern on command and stay in the fight for follow-up drones.

The MAX is built at Derya's U.S. manufacturing operation in Jacksonville. Derya is putting that same platform in front of American customers as its anti-drone 12-gauge — a shotgun designed to put a cloud of shot where a small aircraft is flying, whether the user is on a vehicle mount or a conventional defensive setup.

Derya is one partner on a five-party program. Credit belongs with the team that built the rest of the system:

Turaç has said the system was designed from the start with export in mind and that the company already sells into more than 90 countries and is a NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) supplier. Those statements are Turaç's. Derya Arms is announcing its own product on the system: the Derya MAX as the 12-gauge effector.

Why It Matters

Why It Matters in the United States

Small FPV and kamikaze drones are no longer a problem confined to one theater. The lesson from current conflicts is simple: if the aircraft does not use a radio link you can jam, you have to hit it. A 12-gauge shotgun with the right load is a practical way to do that at the last 150 yards — on a vehicle, a ship, a checkpoint, or a fixed site.

Derya Arms manufactures the MAX in Jacksonville so that platform is available as a U.S.-built 12-gauge for defensive and professional users who need that last layer. The Drone Kalkanı installation is the clearest public example of the MAX doing that job on a purpose-built remote mount.

Sources: Anadolu Agency coverage of Drone Kalkanı, September 2026, as published by SavunmaTR and other Turkish outlets; Turaç statements quoted therein. System figures converted from published metric values.

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