Advanced hit efficiency and destruction (AHEAD) ammunition is a type of airburst round ammunition that releases a cloud of sub-projectiles just ahead of a target, enabling it to engage conventional as well as low, slow and small (LSS) air threats including unmanned aerial vehicles and perform counter rocket, artillery, and mortar duties. The 35 mm variety produced by Oerlikon Contraves splits each projectile into 152 tungsten submunitions "that form a cone-shaped pattern to destroy a target's control surfaces and other vital components". This type of ammunition is listed as an official acronym at the British Ministry of Defence.

AHEAD ammunition was developed as early as 1993.

In 2011, the government of the Republic of China in Taiwan procured itself a Skyguard system, which is based on the AHEAD ammunition.

In 2012, AHEAD was delivered to the German Air Force by Rheinmetall for their MANTIS Air Defence System.

At the 2018 Euronaval trade show, the Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun was noted as able to fire AHEAD ammunition.

In 2018, AHEAD ammunition-capable Oerlikon revolver guns were proposed to the Egyptian Ministry of Defense by the manufacturer, in order to update its air defense system.

In January 2019, the South African National Defence Force boasted about its upgraded ability to fire AHEAD ammunition at airborne targets via a networked multi-gun emplacement.

In March 2021, Rheinmetall Air Defence unveiled the Skyranger 30, an air defense turret that uses a 30 mm gun firing a 30 mm version of the AHEAD projectile.