Russia says its new anti-drone turret fires programmable rounds that calculate when to explode

Russia's state-owned defense manufacturer unveiled on Monday a new stationary anti-drone turret that fires programmable 30mm rounds, marking its entry into such smart ammo tech.

The ZAK-30 Citadel is specifically meant to protect against quadcopters and fixed-wing drones, using airburst rounds filled with shrapnel, Rostec said in a statement.

Rostec said the Citadel deploys a range of optical and radar sensors to detect and track incoming drones.

Remote-controlled fuzes in the 30mm shells then allow the system to make them explode at the "optimal detonation point based on the target's trajectory," Rostec added.

"Significantly fewer of these projectiles are required to destroy a single target than conventional ammunition," the defense giant said.

A released photo shows that the Citadel's turret head swivels, with its cannon able to pitch up and down for hitting targets at higher angles.

Rostec said the Citadel can be operated "24/7" and has already been tested in combat scenarios. The turret is scheduled to be presented at a security forum in Moscow this week.

These smart 30mm rounds are an answer to programmable ammo already sold by Western manufacturers such as Rheinmetall, which makes Advanced Hit Efficiency and Destruction ammo for its Skyranger turrets.

The German firm's AHEAD shells are airburst rounds, too, releasing a cloud of tungsten fragments upon receiving a detonation signal.

Northrop Grumman's Bushmaster chain gun can also fire Mk310 programmable airburst munition rounds, which also use remotely controlled fuzes.

Airburst rounds are a common way of bolstering the effectiveness of antiaircraft munitions against drones, with shrapnel or pellets designed to spread out like in a shotgun blast.