# ANALYSIS: Nammo delivers hundreds of thousands of N7 warheads — Ukrainian drones change their calibre > On June 30, 2026, at the Eurosatory 2026 exhibition in Paris, a piece of information that deserved far more attention emerged almost - Author: Maxime Marquette - Publisher: MadMax (https://mad-max.co) - Section: Analysis - Published: 2026-07-01 - Canonical URL: https://mad-max.co/en/article/analyse-nammo-livre-des-centaines-de-milliers-d-ogives-n7-les-drones-ukrainiens- ## Introduction: when a 66mm warhead redefines the drone war ### The Eurosatory 2026 revelation On **June 30, 2026**, at the **Eurosatory 2026** exhibition in **Paris**, a piece of information that deserved far more attention emerged almost quietly: Norwegian company **Nammo** revealed that it had delivered **hundreds of thousands of N7 armour-piercing warheads** to the **Ukrainian Armed Forces** for use on their loitering munition drones and **FPV** drones. Torstein Korsvold, **Nammo's Director of Communications**, confirmed this to **Janes** journalists at the exhibition. These deliveries have been taking place **"for some time already."** This is not an announcement of a future project. These are munitions already delivered, already in use at the front, already piercing Russian armour. The revelation comes after the operational reality. And it is precisely this delay that speaks volumes: military aid to **Ukraine** often unfolds in silence, confirmed publicly only when operational security permits. *Hundreds of thousands of warheads. This figure represents a considerable strike capacity distributed across thousands of Ukrainian drones. When Nammo confirms these deliveries have been happening "for some time," it means Ukraine has been hitting Russian armour with N7s for months without the whole world knowing. That is war in its rawest state: effective, discreet, documented after the fact.* ## The N7: everything you need to know about this warhead ### Technical specifications: 66mm, 1.5kg, 450mm penetration The **N7** is a **shaped-charge munition of 66mm calibre**, weighing **1.5kg**. Its penetration capacity is **450mm of rolled homogeneous armour (RHA)**. To put that figure in perspective: most light Russian armoured vehicles — **BTR**, **BMP**, **MT-LB** — have armour ranging from **10 to 35mm**. Even **T-72** and **T-80** tanks have lateral and roof armour well below **450mm**. The **N7** is designed to penetrate what drones most commonly encounter on a modern battlefield. The **N7**'s fuze is dual-mode: it can trigger at release from a **loitering munition drone** (vertical strike on the upper armour, the most vulnerable point of a tank) or on impact for direct-approach **FPV drones**. This functional duality is a major operational advantage: the same warhead can be used on two different types of platforms, simplifying the logistics chain and operator training. ### The Eurosatory format: a demonstration against a Russian MLRS At **Eurosatory 2026**, **Nammo** representatives showed **Janes** journalists a video demonstrating typical **N7** use: a warhead dropped from a bombing drone striking a **Russian multiple launch rocket system (MLRS)**. The choice of demonstration target is not incidental. Russian **MLRS** — **BM-21 Grad**, **BM-27 Uragan**, **BM-30 Smerch** — are among the most lethal weapons against Ukrainian positions. Destroying them directly reduces the Russian artillery tempo. One additional technical detail warrants attention: an exhibition photograph shows an **Orca UAV** drone equipped with an **N7 anti-tank explosive fragmentation warhead with copper cone**. The **Orca** is a Ukrainian bombing drone — direct proof that **N7** integration on Ukrainian platforms is not theoretical; it is operational and displayed without ambiguity at an international exhibition. *Displaying at Eurosatory a Ukrainian drone armed with a Norwegian warhead alongside a video destroying a Russian MLRS — that is a statement as much as a technical demonstration. Nammo is telling the world: we support Ukraine, our munitions work, and we are not ashamed to show it. That is the kind of moral clarity I value in this conflict.* ## The scale of deliveries: what "hundreds of thousands" really means ### Quantities running into six figures **Nammo** confirmed that **N7s** have been sold to **Ukraine** in **"six-figure quantities."** In plain terms: at minimum **100,000 warheads**, potentially several hundred thousand. For context: if **Ukraine** operates as few as **10,000 active FPV drones per week** (a conservative figure given published estimates), **100,000 N7 warheads** represent about ten weeks of operations at that tempo. If the figures exceed **300,000 or 400,000**, that is several months of anti-armour strike autonomy. These figures illustrate a major evolution in the drone war: it is no longer a niche weapon reserved for special missions. It is a mass weapon. Ukrainian **FPV** drones have destroyed thousands of documented Russian armoured vehicles since **2022**. With **N7** warheads capable of penetrating **450mm RHA**, their effectiveness against heavy armour has grown considerably. ### Nammo in April 2026: SOHG grenades also delivered The **N7** announcement is not the first recent **Nammo** delivery to **Ukraine** to be revealed. In **April 2026**, the Norwegian company had delivered its final **Scalable Offensive Hand Grenade (SOHG)** systems to the **Ukrainian Armed Forces**. **Nammo** has thus established itself as a regular, reliable, and diversified supplier of Ukraine's arsenal — not only for drones but for infantry as well. This pattern of diversified deliveries reveals a strategy: **Nammo** has decided that **Ukraine** is a long-term partner, not merely an occasional customer. By investing in the commercial relationship and adapting its products to the specific needs of the Ukrainian conflict, **Nammo** is building a presence that will last well beyond the current war — whether for reconstruction, post-conflict defence, or exports to other defence markets. *Nammo is a defence company. It makes profits. I acknowledge that without reservation. But in this specific case, commercial interests and strategic interests are perfectly aligned: Nammo makes money supplying munitions that allow Ukraine to destroy Russian armour and save Ukrainian lives. When the market serves justice, I have no philosophical objection.* ## The impact on the drone war: a capability analysis ### FPV drones before the N7: limited effectiveness against heavy armour Before the large-scale adoption of **N7** warheads, Ukrainian **FPV** drones were primarily equipped with improvised anti-tank warheads, often derived from RPG grenades or adapted commercial warheads. These munitions had variable penetration capabilities — sometimes insufficient against the frontal armour of Russian tanks, more effective on flanks and from above. With **450mm RHA** penetration, the **N7** exceeds the lateral and roof protections of most Russian tanks in active service. The **T-72B3**, for example, has roof armour of **22 to 45mm** depending on the version and reactive armour additions. The **N7**, dropped vertically from a hovering loitering munition, strikes precisely this vulnerability. This is why the "loitering munition drone equipped with N7" format has become one of the most documented tank-destruction methods on the Ukrainian front. ### The drone war in 2026: industrialisation of anti-armour capabilities What the delivery of **hundreds of thousands of N7 warheads** reveals is that the drone war in **Ukraine** has reached a level of industrialisation and professionalisation that far exceeds the improvised stage of the early years. Military-grade Norwegian warheads, factory-produced, delivered in six-figure quantities, integrated onto standardised Ukrainian drones — this is no longer improvisation. This level of industrialisation is confirmed by other data: **United24** reported that **95%** of Ukrainian arms procurement in **2026** came from domestic industry. This means the drones carrying the **N7s** are overwhelmingly made in **Ukraine**, while the warheads equipping them can come from foreign partners like **Nammo**. It is an intelligent hybrid supply chain: Ukrainian platform, Western munition. *There is something symbolically powerful in this image: a drone built in Ukraine, armed with a Norwegian warhead, piloted by a Ukrainian soldier, destroying a Russian tank. Three countries involved in a single strike lasting a few seconds. That is Western solidarity made concrete, measurable, and destructive to the adversary. That is what real military aid looks like.* ## The Eurosatory context: what Norway is declaring to the world ### Displaying Ukraine-bound weapons at an international exhibition Revealing at **Eurosatory 2026** that hundreds of thousands of warheads have been delivered to **Ukraine** is a political act, not merely a commercial one. **Eurosatory** is one of the world's largest defence exhibitions, with buyers and delegations from every country. Explicitly displaying weapons destined for **Ukraine** alongside videos of Russian equipment being destroyed is an unambiguous statement of position. **Norway** is a **NATO** member. It shares a land border with **Russia** in the **Arctic** region. Its commitment to **Ukraine** is therefore both strategic and existential: if **Russia** wins in **Ukraine**, the implications for Norwegian security are direct. **Nammo**, by displaying its Ukrainian deliveries at an international exhibition, participates in its country's strategic communication — while developing its commercial capabilities in a rapidly growing defence market. ### What the delayed revelation implies about operational security The fact that these deliveries were not announced before **Eurosatory 2026** illustrates a normal operational security practice: not revealing to the adversary the available capabilities before they are deployed at scale. Had **Russia** known from the outset that **Ukraine** possessed **hundreds of thousands of N7 warheads**, it could have adapted its tactics, its vehicle formations, its supplemental reactive armour. The public revelation now comes because the **N7** is already an established fact on the battlefield. Russian military personnel have known for some time, through direct experience, that Ukrainian drones possess serious anti-armour capabilities. The public disclosure at **Eurosatory** therefore holds diplomatic and commercial value, not operational value: it tells potential buyers "here is a combat-proven product" — the most powerful certification stamp in the defence industry. *"Combat-proven" — that phrase is worth billions in the defence industry. Contracts are being won on Ukrainian battlefields right now. Nammo understood that. And its decision to support Ukraine is not only moral — it is also the best marketing investment a weapons manufacturer can make in 2026. I say this without cynicism: when commercial interest and moral interest converge, that is good news.* ## Ukraine's drone industry: 95% autonomy, a powerful symbol ### From total dependence to near-autonomy in four years In **February 2022**, **Ukraine** produced virtually no significant military drones. It was entirely dependent on Western deliveries — Turkish **Bayraktar TB2s**, adapted commercial drones, American equipment. Four years later, **95%** of its arms procurement comes from domestic industry, according to data reported by **United24** in **2026**. This transformation is one of the most remarkable in recent military industrial history. This near-autonomy has a major strategic implication: **Ukraine** is far less vulnerable to allies' political hesitations regarding its supply of munitions and platforms. It can build the drones that carry the **N7s** itself. It can adjust their specifications based on field needs within weeks. This responsiveness is an advantage that no conventional army — including those of **NATO** — has managed to develop as quickly. ### Nammo warheads in Ukraine's drone ecosystem The delivery of **N7s** by **Nammo** illustrates a complementarity model: **Ukraine** produces the platforms, allies supply the specialised munitions. This is more efficient than trying to do everything in **Ukraine** (some warheads require complex industrial processes that **Ukraine** is developing but has not yet fully mastered), and more autonomous than depending on allies for everything. Other drone munition suppliers for Ukraine exist within the allied defence network — Czech, Polish, Baltic, and now Norwegian manufacturers. This ecosystem of diversified suppliers makes Ukraine's supply chain resilient: if one supplier faces production problems or political constraints, others can compensate. Diversification is **Ukraine**'s answer to its inevitable dependence on external partners for certain critical munitions. *The Ukraine of 2026 looks nothing like the Ukraine of 2022 in terms of defence industry. It went from zero to 95% autonomy in four years of total war. Had this same energy and urgency been applied in peacetime, Ukraine would already rank among the world's leading exporters of military technologies. The war was a brutal and unjust accelerant — but that is what it produced.* ## Logistics of the warheads: how N7s reach the front ### The supply chain in a war zone Shipping **hundreds of thousands of N7 warheads** from **Nammo**'s Norwegian factories to drone operators at the Ukrainian front requires complex logistics. The munitions must cross several borders, pass through intermediate depots, be redistributed to drone units, and be integrated onto platforms under often difficult conditions. This logistics chain, if disrupted, can cancel out the capability advantage the **N7s** provide. **Ukraine** has developed remarkable logistics skills since **2022**. Managing arms and munition flows from dozens of different countries, with varying formats and packaging, has become an expertise in its own right. The progressive standardisation of drone munition formats — including the **N7** with its **66mm** calibre, widely compatible with Ukrainian launchers — simplifies this logistics and reduces the risk of distribution errors. ### Maintenance and operator training Introducing professional munitions like the **N7** in large quantities also requires operator training. **FPV** drones and loitering munition drones have different arming and release modes depending on the warheads used. The **N7**'s dual-mode fuze — triggering at release or on impact — requires correct programming depending on the type of drone used. Misconfigured, the fuze can either trigger prematurely or fail to activate on impact. These technical constraints are not insurmountable obstacles. They require training, standardised procedures, and systematic field feedback between units. The Ukrainian army has demonstrated, since **2022**, an ability to learn and adapt to new systems that surpasses most conventional armies. The **N7** is one more system in this ongoing learning process — and with **hundreds of thousands of units** available, time for training will not be lacking. *Training soldiers on new munitions while at war is an impossible exercise in classical military doctrine. Ukraine has been doing it continuously for four years. Every new system delivered — HIMARS, NASAMS, F-16s, now N7s in mass — is integrated faster than the adversary anticipates. This agility may be Zelensky's real secret weapon.* ## Comparison with other drone warheads: the N7 in context ### Available alternatives on the market The **N7** is not the only anti-tank warhead designed for drones on the market. Other manufacturers offer similar solutions — shaped-charge munitions adapted to the small format of **FPV** drones. But the specific combination of the **N7** — **66mm**, **1.5kg**, **450mm RHA**, dual-mode fuze — makes it a particularly well-suited option for the Ukrainian operational profile. The **66mm** calibre matches many Ukrainian standard launchers, reducing compatibility issues. Other warheads of Soviet or Russian design, recovered or adapted, have also been used by Ukrainian drone operators. But the limitations of these improvised options — quality variability, lack of fuze standardisation, uncertain penetration capability — have pushed the **Ukrainian Armed Forces** toward certified professional munitions like the **N7**. The professionalisation of Ukraine's drone war also runs through the professionalisation of its munitions. ### The cost-effectiveness ratio: the economic argument for N7s In a war of attrition, the **cost-effectiveness ratio** of weapons systems is a determining factor. A Ukrainian **FPV** drone costs on average between **500 and 2,000 dollars** depending on its sophistication. An **N7** warhead is estimated at a few thousand dollars at most. Against a **T-72 tank** valued between **1 and 3 million dollars**, or an armoured vehicle at **200,000 to 500,000 dollars**, the equation is clearly favourable to Ukraine. **Russia** spends far more than **Ukraine** for each exchange of this type. This economic imbalance is one of the reasons why the drone war is strategically so favourable to **Ukraine**. **Russia** must replace every destroyed tank at a cost ten to fifty times higher than the strike that destroyed it. Multiplied by thousands of documented strikes, this gap represents considerable economic pressure on Russian defence industry — already under pressure to reconstitute its losses while maintaining missile and drone production. *The economic calculation of Ukraine's drone war is brutal and simple: destroy a two-million-dollar Russian tank with a thousand-dollar drone and an N7 warhead worth a few thousand — that is a ratio of roughly 1 to 200 in Ukraine's favour. Russia can absorb that. But not indefinitely. And every month that passes, the gap widens.* ## Conclusion: the N7 and the war shifting into a new dimension ### What hundreds of thousands of warheads mean for what comes next **Hundreds of thousands of N7 warheads** delivered to **Ukraine** represent an anti-armour strike capability distributed across thousands of drones on a front spanning hundreds of kilometres. This mass of professional anti-armour munitions, integrated into increasingly sophisticated Ukrainian platforms, redefines the armoured combat equation on the Ukrainian front. For **Russia**, this means its tanks and armoured vehicles are threatened not only by heavy weapons systems (anti-tank missiles, artillery), but by swarms of low-cost drones operated with armour-piercing munitions capable of penetrating the vast majority of their armour. The cost-effectiveness ratio of a **500-dollar FPV drone** equipped with a **1,500-dollar N7 warhead** against a **3-million-dollar Russian tank** is relentless. ### Nammo, symbol of a Europe learning to support Ukraine for real The **Nammo** revelation at **Eurosatory 2026** is also a symbol of the growing maturity of European military aid to **Ukraine**. It is no longer merely declarations of solidarity. These are **hundreds of thousands of warheads** already delivered, already in use, already documented. **Norway**, through **Nammo**, has decided that **Ukraine** deserves large-scale industrial support, not just symbolic backing. And this industrial support is precisely what makes the difference between an army that holds and one that collapses. *Hundreds of thousands of N7s. Drones striking Russian tanks from above, where the armour is thinnest. That is the war of 2026 — technological, industrial, asymmetric. And in this war, Ukraine is no longer the David of 2022. It is becoming a distributed firepower that Russia does not know how to stop.* **By Maxime Marquette, columnist** ## Columnist's transparency note ### Editorial stance I am not a journalist but a **columnist and analyst**. My expertise lies in observing and analysing the geopolitical, economic and strategic dynamics that shape our world. My work is to take political strategies apart, to understand global economic movements, to put the decisions of international actors in context and to offer analytical perspectives on the changes that are redefining our societies. I do not claim the cold objectivity of traditional journalism, which stops at reporting facts. **I claim analytical clarity**, rigorous interpretation and a deep understanding of the complex issues that concern us all. My role is to give meaning to the facts, to place them in their historical and strategic context, and to offer a critical reading of events. ### Method and sources This text keeps the basic distinction between **verified facts and interpretive analysis**. The rule never changes: a factual claim is published only when a verifiable source supports it, and the sources this article actually used are listed under **Sources**, never here. **Primary source families** used by the publication, when the story has them: official statements from governments and international institutions, public statements by political leaders, reports from intergovernmental organisations, dispatches from recognised international news agencies. **Secondary source families**: specialised publications, internationally recognised news media, analyses from established research institutions, reports from industry organisations. When an article cites statistical, economic or geopolitical data, it comes from the institutions that produce it (intergovernmental organisations, central banks, national statistics offices), and the exact institution is named under **Sources**. ### Nature of the analysis The analyses, interpretations and perspectives in the analytical sections of this article are a **critical, contextual synthesis** based on the information available, the trends observed and the expert comments cited in the sources consulted. My role is to interpret these facts, to set them in the context of today's geopolitical and economic dynamics, and to give them a coherent meaning within the larger story of the changes shaping our time. These analyses reflect expertise built through continuous observation of international affairs and an understanding of the strategic mechanisms that drive global actors. This article describes a documented state of affairs on its publication date, not a prediction: later developments may shift its outlook. No update is promised in advance; when an article is corrected or completed, the change is dated in the text. ## Sources ### Primary sources - [Nammo Delivers Hundreds of Thousands of Drone Warheads to Ukraine — Militarnyi, June 30, 2026](https://militarnyi.com/en/news/nammo-delivers-drone-warheads-to-ukraine/) - [Ukraine's homegrown drone industry reaches 95% of military procurement — United24, 2026](https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraines-homegrown-drone-industry-reaches-95-of-military-procurement-20155) ### Secondary sources - [Norway-Ukraine agreement aims to bring armed robots onto the battlefield — Kyiv Independent, June 30, 2026](https://kyivindependent.com/norway-ukraine-agreement-aims-to-bring-armed-robots-onto-the-battlefield/) - [Defence Ukraine — specialist portal, June 2026](https://en.defence-ua.com/) - Russian war casualties — NewsUkraine RBC, June 30, 2026 - [Ukraine's Mobidik naval drone covers entire Black Sea — Euromaidanpress, June 30, 2026](https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/06/30/1400-kilometers-of-range-six-configurations-one-armed-with-missiles-ukraines-mobidik-covers-entire-black-sea/) --- Source: Maxime Marquette, MadMax. When citing, name the author and link https://mad-max.co/en/article/analyse-nammo-livre-des-centaines-de-milliers-d-ogives-n7-les-drones-ukrainiens-