The famous ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" find a new life in Vietnam

ZSU-23-4 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns continue to be in service with more than twenty armies of the world. In some of them, the overhaul of this combat vehicle has been mastered. For example, the military industry of Vietnam is engaged in this.

Specialists are restoring the chassis, engine, transmission, instrument complex with a radar station, on-board electronics and communications equipment.

The weapon is also not left without attention - four rapid-firing 23-mm 2A7 guns, which are also returned to working capacity. After such work, tracked self-propelled guns will be able to serve in the troops for more than one year, although some of them were delivered from the Soviet Union back in the 70s and managed to fight at the final stage of the war that ended with the unification of the country.

Also in Vietnam, a variant of the modernization of the "Shilka"has been developed. For the first time, this project was discussed about two years ago, and in the autumn of last year, a ready-made sample was demonstrated for the first time.

Externally, it differs from the original version with additional weapons, consisting of four small-sized anti-aircraft missiles placed in protected containers.

It can also be seen that the radar antenna has been replaced with a multi-channel module with television, thermal imaging channels and a laser rangefinder.

Such a design solution significantly increases the effectiveness of the use of weapons at any time of the day, at the same time, the installation itself is much more difficult for the enemy to detect. It is expected that such modified ZSU-23-4 will soon begin to enter the troops.

Alexey Moiseev