---
title: "Latvia Shows How the New Hunter IFV Will Shoot Down and Jam Drones: What Was Fitted to the Vehicle Before It Enters Service"
description: "Latvia showcased anti-drone systems on the new Hunter IFV at Adazi base: Spanish active and passive systems, as well as integration with ground drones. The first vehicles are due to reach the troops in October."
date: 2026-08-28T09:28:06.000Z
lang: en
url: https://xab.info/en/posts/latvia-bmp-hunter-anti-drone-protection-adazi
tags: [latvia, hunter-ifv, anti-drone, ascod, gdels, nato, defense]
publisher: "XAB.info"
---

# Latvia Shows How the New Hunter IFV Will Shoot Down and Jam Drones: What Was Fitted to the Vehicle Before It Enters Service

![Hunter armored vehicle with camouflage netting and a drone-countermeasure weapon station on a training ground](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/28/latvia-bmp-hunter-protivodronovaya-zashchita-adazi/latvia-bmp-hunter-protivodronovaya-zashchita-adazi-1.webp)

## 🎯 Key Points

- Active and passive anti-drone systems from Spain's GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas were demonstrated on the Hunter IFV (“Mednieks”) at Adazi base.
- The vehicle's interaction with Latvia's ground drones, which detect and jam enemy drone signals, was tested in parallel.
- The first of the 84 ordered vehicles are due to reach the troops in October, making the demonstration the last chance to lock in the protection configuration before entry into service.

The Latvian Ministry of Defence held a demonstration of anti-drone systems mounted on the new Hunter infantry fighting vehicle at the Adazi military base. This is reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing the Latvian public broadcaster LSM. The showcase was, in effect, Riga's last chance to settle on a set of air-defence measures before the vehicles officially enter service, rather than having to add them later, after the fact.

### What Was Shown at Adazi Base

The Hunter IFV, known in Latvian as the “Mednieks,” was fitted with equipment from the Spanish company GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas — the same manufacturer supplying Latvia with the vehicle itself. As the report notes, the demonstration took place on Thursday and was timed to the final stage of preparing the vehicles for handover: the first vehicles are due to reach the National Armed Forces in October, which is precisely why Riga could lock in the anti-drone protection configuration now without having to rework already serial-produced models.

### Active and Passive Systems: How the Protection Works

During the trials, two classes of equipment were tested. Active systems are capable of independently engaging approaching drones, while passive ones merely detect the threat and warn the crew. In parallel, the vehicle's interaction with Latvia's ground drones was tested — drones that do not operate against the Hunter but alongside it, detecting enemy drones and jamming their signal. According to the outlet, this approach mirrors the logic of trials previously conducted by the U.S. Army on its own vehicles: fitting armoured vehicles with equipment able to shoot down or jam a small drone before it drops a grenade or dives onto the armour from above.

### The ASCOD Platform and the Vehicle's Path to the Troops

The Hunter is built on the ASCOD platform, used by several NATO countries and localised to suit Latvia's needs. The vehicle was modernised for contemporary mechanised infantry operations, with an emphasis on firepower, modular armour, and interoperability with allied equipment. The name for the IFV was chosen by the soldiers of the Mechanised Infantry Brigade, who will subsequently command it. Latvia signed its first contract for 42 Hunter vehicles with GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas in January 2025, and by June of the same year had doubled the order to 84 units.

### Contradictory Data

There is a discrepancy here that warrants separate mention. On the one hand, the Latvian Prime Minister previously acknowledged that the country had purchased specialised anti-drone systems to counter Russian attacks but had not secured the ammunition for them. On the other hand, at Adazi base they are demonstrating active systems mounted on the IFV itself, which by definition require their own means of engagement. The outlet does not clarify whether the systems shown on the vehicle fall into the same category the Prime Minister referred to, or whether this is a separate, later stage of equipping. Thus, two versions are publicly on the table: either the ammunition shortage concerns national stationary/portable systems, while the vehicle receives its own autonomous protection, or the demonstration itself is the answer to the previously acknowledged gap. No official clarification is provided in the available materials.

### Regional Context: Why This Matters Now

The looming threat is well understood in the region: Russia's war against Ukraine has shown how cheap FPV drones can disable armoured vehicles worth millions of dollars, and Latvia borders NATO's eastern frontier with Russia directly. The issue of air threats for the country sharpened even before this month, when NATO fighter jets shot down a drone that strayed into Latvian airspace in the area of several municipalities on the border with Belarus and Russia. Against this backdrop, the demonstration at Adazi looks less like a training episode and more like practical preparation to ensure that every new unit of armoured vehicle enters service already equipped with a ready answer to the region's main air threat.

## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification

- [Latvia Equips Its Latest Hunter IFV with Anti-Drone Measures](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/latviya-ozbroyila-novitnyu-bmp-hunter-zasobami-1787909083.html) - Единственный предоставленный источник; цитирует латвийский общественный вещатель LSM. Подтверждает демонстрацию на базе Адажи, поставщика GDELS‑Santa Bárbara Sistemas, контракты 42/84 машин (январь и июнь 2025), поступление в октябре, выбор названия солдатами, инцидент со сбитым дроном и признание премьера о нехватке боеприпасов. Детали по классификации систем и параллели с США — из того же сообщения, независимой верификации нет.

## ❓ FAQ

### Q: What exactly was fitted to the Hunter IFV?
**A:** Equipment from the Spanish company GDELS-Santa Bárbara Sistemas: active systems capable of independently engaging approaching drones, and passive ones that merely warn the crew of a threat. The vehicle's integration with Latvia's ground drones was also tested.

### Q: How many Hunter vehicles has Latvia ordered and when will they reach the troops?
**A:** The first contract for 42 vehicles was signed in January 2025, and in June of the same year the order was doubled to 84 units. The first vehicles are due to reach the National Armed Forces in October.

### Q: Why was the demonstration held right now?
**A:** With the first vehicles due in October, this was Latvia's last chance to settle on its anti-drone protection set without having to add it later, after the fact, to serial-produced vehicles.