Tankopedia
Late Cold WarLightSPAAGSoviet Union

ZSU-23-4 Shilka

In service 1965 - In service

Radar-directed self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, not a tank; the most widely used vehicle of its kind ever built.

Built byMytishchi Machine Works

ZSU-23-4 Shilka
Alan Wilson · CC BY-SA 2.0

Development history

The Shilka paired four 23 mm cannon with the RPK-2 Tobol gun-laying radar, letting it engage low-flying aircraft on the move and in poor visibility. It forced NATO pilots to fly higher into the reach of surface-to-air missiles, a combination that did serious damage to Israeli aircraft in 1973. Later used heavily against ground targets in Afghanistan and Chechnya, and still in service with many armies.

Variants

One canonical record, 3 recorded variants.

  1. ZSU-23-4V1

    1970

    Improved radar and cooling, revised electronics bays

  2. ZSU-23-4M Biryusa

    1973

    New 2A7M guns and Tobol radar upgrade, longer barrel life

  3. ZSU-23-4M4

    1999

    Russian rebuild with Igla missiles and modern optics

Notable actions

  • Yom Kippur War
  • Soviet-Afghan War
  • Iran-Iraq War
  • Gulf War