Italian defense technology firm Dualee said on November 12, 2026, that its LIVET M4 counter-drone remote-controlled weapon station (RCWS), which carries eight Benelli M4 A.I. Drone Guardian shotguns, completed a live demonstration in front of the Danish Armed Forces. The company did not disclose the date or exact location of the trial, the target profile engaged, or whether Denmark intends to procure the system.
The demonstration comes five months after Beretta Defense Technologies (BDT), the parent group of Benelli Armi, unveiled LIVET at Eurosatory 2026 in Paris and positioned it as a kinetic layer for the protection of strategic assets and critical infrastructure. It also lands as Denmark rebuilds its ground-based air defense (GBAD) network from the top down.
How the LIVET M4 Turret Pairs AI Tracking With Human Fire Control
Dualee says the station uses artificial intelligence to “detect and identify micro and mini drones instantly” and to track them “with extreme precision using AI-driven analytics.” The company describes LIVET M4 as able to “engage targets completely autonomously,” but specifies that neutralization occurs “based on the final decision of the gunner.” In practice, that is a human-in-the-loop architecture: software handles detection, classification and slewing of the mount, while a remote operator authorizes each engagement.
The design targets the main weakness of the shotgun as a counter-UAS tool. A dismounted soldier must acquire a small, fast and maneuvering target at close range under stress. Automating acquisition and aim removes that variable and leaves the operator with the release decision.
Eight weapons on one mount buy fire density and redundancy: a single stoppage does not take the station offline, and multiple pellet clouds can be placed across a drone’s approach path. Dualee has not published the sensor suite, whether electro-optical, infrared or radar-cued, nor ammunition capacity, traverse and elevation limits, reload procedure or system weight. Those parameters will determine whether LIVET M4 remains a fixed-site asset or can be integrated on vehicles.
Benelli M4 Drone Guardian: Range, Ammunition and Service Record
The effector is the M4 A.I. Drone Guardian, a counter-UAS derivative of the gas-operated Benelli M4 semi-automatic 12-gauge shotgun. Publicly available specifications indicate the baseline M4 entered service in the late 1990s and was adopted by the US Marine Corps as the M1014. The Drone Guardian adds Benelli’s Advanced Impact (A.I.) barrel technology, intended to increase penetration and tighten the shot pattern, and is offered with 18.5-inch (470 mm) and 26-inch (660 mm) barrels.
Benelli rates the weapon’s optimal engagement range at up to 50 meters (164 feet), extending to about 100 meters (328 feet) in favorable conditions with tungsten shot. Recommended loads come from Norma, a BDT company, including a tungsten-pellet cartridge with a published muzzle velocity of roughly 405 meters per second. Japan’s Ministry of Defense signed a contract for Drone Guardian shotguns on September 12, 2025, to equip ground units against small drones, and Ukrainian forces employ the weapon against Russian drones, according to the manufacturer.
The range figure defines the system’s role. A first-person-view (FPV) drone closing at 100 km/h (62 mph) crosses the 50-meter optimal envelope in under two seconds. LIVET M4 is a terminal-defense effector, and its effectiveness will depend on early cueing from external sensors.
Analysis: Denmark committed 58 billion kroner (about $9.1 billion) in September 2025 to eight GBAD systems, with SAMP/T covering the long-range tier and NASAMS, IRIS-T and VL MICA the medium tier. None of those systems is designed to defeat a quadcopter at an acceptable cost per shot. Shotgun-based point defense trades reach for cheap, deep magazines and low collateral risk around bases and infrastructure. The catch is geometry: a 50-meter envelope means protecting dispersed sites would require many stations, each fed by a sensor network that can hand off targets within seconds.
The next indicators to watch are a Danish requirement, trial program or contract, and publication of LIVET M4’s sensor, magazine and performance data. Dualee and BDT have disclosed no pricing, production rate or customer. Then-Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen called ground-based air defense “an absolute top priority” in 2025; Jeppe Bruus, defense minister since June 3, 2026, now oversees whether that priority extends to the lowest tier.
