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Rostec Unveils Citadel ZAK-30 Counter‑Drone Autocannon

The company says programmable proximity‑fuzed 30mm shells with electro‑optical and radar sensors will raise hit probability so each engagement uses fewer rounds.

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As drones like this Ukrainian Heavy Shot swarm the battlefield, Russia says it's making a new turret to shoot them down with programmable airburst rounds.

Overview

  • Rostec publicly unveiled the Citadel, also called ZAK‑30 or Tsitadel, shortly before the First International Security Forum, with state outlets reporting the reveal on Monday.
  • The system fires 30mm airburst shrapnel rounds whose fuzes can be programmed remotely to detonate at a calculated point on a drone’s flight path to create a fragmentation cloud rather than require a direct hit.
  • Rostec says Citadel pairs dual‑channel sensing—electro‑optical (visible and IR) plus radar—with automated fire control to detect fixed‑wing drones to about 2,000 meters and multicopters to about 1,000 meters.
  • Published specs state a 250‑round ready load, vertical engagement from −10° to +60° and horizontal traverse of ±150°, with an effective engagement band near 1,000–1,300 meters for some targets.
  • Key claims remain unverified: Rostec asserts the system is combat‑proven and highly automated, a reported unit cost of roughly 600 million rubles has been published, and independent testing and rules on human authorization to fire are not specified.