Click to see full-size image. (Rostec)
Russia’s state corporation Rostec unveiled on May 25 the ZAK-30 “Citadel,” an air defense system especially designed to counter fixed-wing and multirotor drones.
The system, built around a 30 mm gun, can work around the clock, the corporation said in a statement posted to Telegram, adding that it fires special fragmentation rounds with timed fuses.
“‘Citadel’ has both electro-optical and radar systems for detecting and tracking enemy drones. The optical channel operates in the visible and infrared range. In addition, the complex can use shells with controlled detonation, and its operation – from detection to destruction of the target – has a high degree of automation,” it elaborated.
Rostec didn’t reveal the exact type of the 30 mm gun used by the system, but it is very likely the combat-proven Shipunov 2A42.
The 2a42 lowest rate of fire is 200–300 rounds per minute and can get as high as 550–800 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 960 meters per second. The cannon’s effective firing range is two kilometers, but can fire at targets up to four kilometers away. The Spitsa can be loaded with up to 300 rounds.
The Citadel was among several air defense systems shown to Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of Russia, at the Kapustin Yar test site last year.
It is also believed to be the same system which was documented intercepting four Ukrainian fixed-wing suicide drones earlier this month, using very few rounds to take down each one. At the time it was also reported that the system is built around a 30 mm gun,
The new air defense system provides a cost-effective solution to protect a single object or a limited area, like a ship, building or an airfield, against drones.
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