At the Kapustin Yar training ground, Russians held another demonstration of various weapons and military equipment for the Deputy Chairman of the Security Council of the russian federation Dmitry Medvedev. The display included stationary automated anti-aircraft systems based on the ZU-23-2, as well as various paired machine guns.
"Today, the next phase of testing for promising weapons was observed," Medvedev said. He noted that the previous demonstration, "with the same lineup," in April this year "raised a number of questions that need to be resolved today."
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"The results of the work completed have been presented, and we will now discuss them, including issues that are highly relevant for our settlements, not just for the front line," Medvedev said with an emphasis on measures to protect against Ukrainian long-range drones and missiles.
When it comes to the ZU-23-2 as a stationary robotic system, it is worth noting that Medvedev has apparently been shown this development at Kapustin Yar before. Improved ZU-23-2s were demonstrated to him at the same site back in September 2024.
It should be noted that the concept of a remotely controlled ZU-23-2 was demonstrated in russia back in 2013 under the designation ZU-23/30M1-3, but this modification never entered serial production.
Later, in 2023, russians unveiled a new variant of the remote-controlled ZU-23-2, equipped with integrated electro-optical equipment, though the technical specifications of this modification remained unclear.
At present it is not clear if the systems on display are the 2023 model with integrated machine guns or a new, improved variant for countering long‑range drones.
On the one hand, this solution certainly exists as one way to counter the threat of long‑range drones. On the other hand, it is unlikely that this modification has brought russians up to the level of Poland's Pilica or Skynex with its programmable detonation.
Earlier, Defense Express reported that the Ukrainian Forces had destroyed a russian naval drone for the first time, and it looked like it was a new type.
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