Read together, these numbers describe a weapon for the final metres of an engagement, not for wide-area air defence.
Almaz-Antey has shown a new automated turret intended to counter first-person-view drones, according to a report by the Russian state news agency TASS. The system, named Avtopritsel, was displayed publicly for the first time at the International Collective Security Forum in Moscow by the Strela Research and Production Association, which TASS describes as part of the Almaz-Antey Group. The report is based on what was displayed at the company's booth and on a TASS correspondent's visit to the forum.
The design is unusual. According to the information shown at the booth, the turret carries two twin Vepr-12 Molot shotguns chambered for 12-gauge rounds. That points to a short-range, last-ditch approach to drone defence, in which a mass of pellets rather than a precision projectile is used to bring down a small, fast-moving target. TASS lists remote control, and autonomous round-the-clock and all-weather operation, among the system's stated advantages.
The figures given at the booth set out the turret's intended role. Its target detection range is approximately half a kilometre for a DJI Mavic-type unmanned aerial vehicle, one kilometre for a person and three kilometres for a truck. It can engage up to ten targets simultaneously at distances of between 25 and 100 metres, and can run for about eight hours on a rechargeable battery. Read together, these numbers describe a weapon for the final metres of an engagement, not for wide-area air defence.
That is where the interest lies. FPV drones have become one of the defining threats of contemporary ground combat, and the reported detection ranges show how little time a defender may have. A system that detects a small quadcopter at around 500 metres and fires only inside 100 metres is relying on automation to compress the decision loop. The claim of engaging up to ten targets at once suggests the designers expect attacks in numbers rather than singly. Whether a shotgun-based turret can deliver that reliably in the field is a question the booth figures do not answer.
What is not yet known is substantial. TASS reports no unit cost, no production schedule, no confirmed orders and no independent trials. The performance claims come from the manufacturer's display material, and the report does not say whether the system has been tested in combat or under electronic warfare conditions. The eight-hour battery life and the all-weather claim are likewise unverified outside the booth.
The unveiling nonetheless fits a wider pattern. Short-range gun-based counter-drone systems are being marketed across several countries as armies look for cheaper ways to destroy inexpensive aerial threats than by firing expensive missiles. Almaz-Antey's decision to show the Avtopritsel at a security forum in Moscow signals that it sees export and domestic demand. The claims should be treated as claims until evidence from trials or the battlefield appears.
