How to upgrade Vietnam's self-propelled anti-aircraft guns

In addition to the 105 mm howitzer, the Vietnamese Army is also testing a 23 mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun model on a wheeled chassis.

Vietnam's approach to this domestically produced self-propelled anti-aircraft gun is similar to that of howitzers, which is to mount a 23mm ZU-23-2 automatic cannon on a off-road wheeled truck chassis (KamAZ type).

The above option significantly increases the mobility of this weapon, however it still has a few drawbacks that should be noted.

23mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun made in Vietnam. Photo: Vietnam Defense Television.

First, it is easy to see that this gun model has a limited firing angle, it can only rotate about 180 degrees to take charge of defending the rear hemisphere, it cannot rotate forward because it is stuck in the truck cabin.

Next, deployment and recovery are relatively time-consuming because the forks have to be retracted and lowered. This wheeled truck does not have the ability to wade through water, and the crew is not protected by armor.

Therefore, perhaps in the future Vietnam should research and upgrade this 23mm self-propelled anti-aircraft gun model in the way that some countries have applied, which is to use a tracked armored vehicle chassis.

Russian ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun mounted on BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle chassis

In the above configuration of the Russian Army, the ZU-23-2 is mounted on the chassis of the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle with the turret removed.

Compared to the KamAZ truck, this ZU-23-2 is not limited in firing angle, can rotate 360 ​​degrees easily. Thanks to the tracked chassis, the lifting and lowering of the fork is eliminated, helping to save time in switching to combat readiness.

In addition, the vehicle is also capable of wading, and the crew is safely protected against light infantry weapons or bomb and artillery fragments, something that the wheeled KamAZ cannot meet.

Russian ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun mounted on BMD parachute armored vehicle chassis

Not only the Russian Army, your Airborne Forces also showed interest in the above plan, they put the ZU-23-2 on the chassis of the BMD parachute armored vehicle. This weapon, in addition to air defense, also provides good fire support for infantry.

ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun on MT-LB armored personnel carrier chassis

In the specific conditions in Vietnam, if we feel "regretful" about the BMP-1 and do not want to remove the turret to change its function, we can completely take advantage of the MT-LB tracked amphibious armored vehicle chassis (or even the Type 63 made in China) to mount this 23mm automatic cannon.

In short, the plan to put the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun on the chassis of a tracked amphibious armored vehicle has many advantages over a wheeled off-road vehicle. Hopefully, in the near future, Vietnam will apply the above method to improve the combat capability of its "domestic self-propelled anti-aircraft gun".

According to Baodatviet