Russian state defense conglomerate Rostec will showcase its new Bizon anti-drone system in Egypt, marking the weapon's first international public presentation.
The unmanned aerial vehicle interception system, manufactured by Rostec subsidiary High-Precision Systems, will make its overseas debut at the El Alamein International Airshow 2026. The aerospace trade exhibition takes place from September 8 to September 10 at the airport in the city of El Alamein, situated on Egypt's Mediterranean coast.
The Bizon system is built specifically to counter low-flying, small-scale unmanned aerial vehicles. It operates by automatically detecting and tracking incoming aerial targets, locking onto them without operator assistance. The final decision to destroy an identified target is made by a human operator, who fires PKT machine guns loaded with 7.62 millimeter caliber ammunition.
The PKT machine gun is an armored vehicle variant of the Kalashnikov machine gun system, designed for rapid fire against short-range targets. Small drones flying at low altitudes often present difficult radar targets for heavy surface to air missile batteries, creating a requirement for specialized point-defense gun systems.
Air defense deployment and capabilities
Bekhan Ozdoev, the industrial director of the weapons cluster at Rostec, said the Bizon interception system can be deployed as an independent defense unit or integrated into a multi-layered object air defense structure.
Layered object air defense strategy places multiple types of defensive weapons around key infrastructure, such as industrial facilities and military bases, to protect them from aerial attack. State-owned Rostec is Russia's primary defense industry holding, while High-Precision Systems oversees the production of tactical air defense complexes and precision guided munitions.
Mobile firing groups counter drone raids
The international debut of the Bizon system comes amid broader tactical efforts to counter unmanned aerial threats. In July, Dmitry Kuzyakin, general designer of the Center for Integrated Unmanned Solutions, addressed air defense measures during an interview on the program We Are Aware on Tsargrad TV.
Kuzyakin stated that the primary method of defending against massive raids by Ukrainian long-range drones is a radical increase in mobile firing groups across the country. He noted that these mobile units must be equipped with modern weaponry and tracking systems to protect target locations.
Mobile firing groups generally consist of mobile crews fitted with rapid-fire weapons to intercept low-altitude targets. The upcoming presentation in El Alamein marks Russia's first export display of the Bizon counter-drone system to international defense buyers.
