Vietnam upgrades ZU-23-2 self-propelled gun to destroy targets over 5km away

With the option of equipping the ZU-23-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun with missiles, the power and range of the no longer new weapons will increase significantly.

According to QPVN Channel, the Military Mechanical Engineering Institute is carrying out a research project to manufacture a basic vehicle to install a low-altitude anti-aircraft artillery - missile system. This is a highly applicable project, easy to operate, enhances the mobility of the artillery, minimizes the effort of soldiers when deploying and recovering the artillery, this project has significantly reduced the defense budget.

The configuration of weapons produced in Vietnam is basically not much different from similar foreign products. According to published images, the ZU-23-2 self-propelled artillery system of Vietnam will be equipped with Igla missiles - a missile line that Vietnam has produced independently.

Vietnam ZU-23-2 self-propelled artillery.

With this weapon, the ZU-23-2 self-propelled anti-aircraft gun will have an extremely impressive combat range because the Igla missile complex can take down targets at a distance of up to 5.2km, at an altitude of 3.5-4km. To increase the ability to destroy targets, this self-propelled gun has been upgraded with a control block that identifies targets and automatically takes out the firing element.

The system includes a laser rangefinder, an electro-optical sight capable of day/night operation. An automatic loader is installed to increase the rate of fire. The fire control unit will automatically adjust the elevation angle of the gun according to the target parameters from the sensor system.

The electrically operated control unit with 360-degree rotation allows for better observation. The sensor, fire control and gun systems are connected together to form a unified unit to improve combat performance.

Target information is displayed on the screen for the gunner to observe and control the gun so that the line of sight is at the center of the target in tracking mode as well as shooting practice. Controlling the gun and sensor system is quite easy with a handheld joystick.

Before the upgrade, the ZU-23-2 was operated entirely by hand, requiring a lot of people, making it unsuitable for deployment in island areas. After the upgrade, the firing commander and the entire crew of the ZU-23-2 were reduced to just one gunner.

The automation of the entire process of target identification, firing element calculation and fire control of the ZU-23-2 gun has streamlined the organization while improving combat performance. The improved firing range remains the same as before.

In addition, the previous manual target range adjustment mechanism used a laser rangefinder and infrared imaging system. With the old mechanism, the gunner took a long time to determine the range, but the target coordinates were only relatively inaccurate, not as accurate as the new system.

According to Baodatviet