A drone delivers a Bunker Rupture and Kinetic Explosive Round (BRAKER) during a live-fire demonstration at Redstone Arsenal, Ala., on March 26, 2026. The new warhead was developed in just two weeks. (U.S. Army)
Small drones armed with bunker-busting firepower could be added to the arsenal of front-line troops, giving them a new battlefield option for cracking hardened targets without the help of outside air support.
A new warhead, developed in just two weeks, was successfully deployed during a live-fire demonstration at an Army training grounds in Alabama, the service said in a statement this week.
The March 26 detonation “demonstrates a new and potent capability for the modern warfighter and illustrates how engineers can quickly design, fabricate, and integrate hardware to meet urgent and compelling needs,” the Army statement said.
The so-called Bunker Rupture and Kinetic Explosive Round, or BRAKER, is a lightweight warhead designed to be carried on agile one-way attack drones, the Army said.
The effort reflects a broader push by the Army to incorporate drones and more strike options at the small ground unit level. The project, led by a team of Army developers at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, used 3D printing technology to go from concept to live fire in two weeks, said Col. Vincent Morris, the project manager. A dozen bombs were created during the initiative.
The team is now creating a plan to help industry scale “this critical warfighter advantage,” Morris said.
The Army didn’t say how soon the BRAKER could be fielded to units, but the program encapsulates how the Army is prioritizing the types of capabilities that have proven effective for Ukrainian forces in their war with Russia.
Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, who has been dubbed the “drone guy” by President Donald Trump, told lawmakers last week that the service was capitalizing on lessons learned from the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Ukrainian military has “fundamentally changed the approach to warfare,” Driscoll said during a congressional hearing Thursday.
