MOSCOW, October 13. /TASS/. Russia’s state-of-the-art Citadel anti-aircraft artillery system uses less ammunition thanks to its fire control system, the state tech corporation Rostec reported.

Citadel is a 30-mm automatic artillery system designed to provide round-the-clock protection for fixed installations against multicopter and fixed-wing drones. Rostec first presented the system in May at the First International Security Forum in the Moscow Region.

"Thanks to its fire control system and shells with remote-detonation fuzes, the Citadel anti-aircraft artillery system has demonstrated significantly lower ammunition consumption per target destroyed than standard anti-aircraft artillery systems. In some cases, consumption is several times lower," a Rostec representative told the Izvestia daily.

The system independently identifies and tracks the target, automatically aims the guns, and determines when to detonate the shells. This ensures not only the destruction of the flying object but also reduces ammunition use to a minimum.

The system detects drones in the visible, infrared, and radar spectrums. Rostec previously reported that the system’s arsenal includes smart shells that can be programmed to detonate at a specific point along their trajectory. Such munitions surround enemy drones in a cloud of shrapnel at the precise moment needed, requiring significantly fewer shells than conventional munitions.

In addition, the system can be easily integrated with other UAV countermeasures as part of a layered air defense system and features a high degree of automation--from target detection to destruction.