ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" anti-aircraft self-propelled guns during the maneuvers of the ground forces of the Jordanian army covered the units involved in training battles armed with Al-Hussein tanks and Marder 1A3 infantry fighting vehicles.
The first are the renamed FV4030/4 Challenger, until the end of the 90s they were operated in the UK, and gained great fame after participating in the war against Iraq in 1991.
At first, these combat vehicles were praised in every possible way, claiming that they practically managed to destroy three hundred enemy tanks without losses (mainly former Soviet T-55 and Chinese Type 69-II). Later it became known about numerous technical problems that emerged during operation in desert conditions.
As a result, the British, having adopted the more advanced Challenger 2, quickly got rid of the first-generation cars, selling them to Jordan. Now most of them are no longer in operation, but are in storage.
The Marder 1A3 was taken out of service by the Bundeswehr, and more than fifty units were delivered as part of gratuitous military assistance.
These armored personnel carriers have reinforced reservations, now they can withstand 30-mm shells of automatic guns hitting the forehead, and 14.5-mm ammunition hitting the sides and stern. The combat weight increased to 33,000 kg, the maximum speed, however, decreased to 65 km / h.
Four dozen ZSU-23-4 "Shilka" were delivered back in the 80s. Judging by the video, the equipment is in excellent condition, and, in addition to hitting air targets, it is used to destroy objects on the ground.
It should be noted that Jordan's military air defense still consists mainly of Russian models, such as the Wasp, Strela-10, and various versions of the Igla portable anti-aircraft missile systems.
At the same time, sixty 35 mm Gepard self-propelled guns made on the chassis of Leopard 1 tanks were transferred from Germany.
Last year, it became known about the supply of seventy Leclerc tanks to Jordan from the United Arab Emirates, which will become the most modern examples of such equipment in the kingdom's army.
Alexey Moiseev
