Zhang Yufan, Wang Yifei, Wang Yunsong, Yang Miaojun
With the wide application of unmanned aerial systems in modern intelligent battlefields, the aerial threat from unmanned aerial vehicles has become one of the important security issues faced by the Russian military. To effectively respond to this challenge, the Russian Ministry of Defense has developed a new mobile anti-drone unit. The unit uses a 23mm twin-mounted ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun mounted on a light truck chassis as its main weapon, and with its high mobility, flexibility and firepower superiority, it has become a tactical weapon to defend the Russian army from drones.
ZU-23-2 Anti-aircraft guns: Guardians of timeless fire
In the late fifties of the last century, the USSR developed the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun in response to the threat of low-flying targets and ground-based armored vehicles. This artillery has been tested in real combat for decades and still plays an important role in conflicts in some regions. So, what is so special about this gun that it will endure for a long time?
The ZU-23-2 received two 2A14 23mm anti-aircraft cannons, mounted on a small trailer. The total weight of the artillery system is 0.95 tons, although it is more difficult for manual handling, but thanks to the configuration of a small trailer, it can be easily towed and transferred by various combat vehicles. In the early Soviet and later Russian armies, four-wheel drive trucks such as the GAZ-66 and GAZ-69 were often used for towing or were installed directly in the truck bed for use.
ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun mounted on a tank
In terms of shooting, the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun showed excellent performance. Its main armament, the two 2A14 23mm cannons, has a barrel length of 2008mm, which can convert the trailer into a fixed gun mount when firing, and it only takes 30 seconds to complete the conversion from marching to firing. This design greatly improves the stability and accuracy of the artillery and is of great significance for quickly responding to targets.
The front end of the double-barreled gun is designed with a cylindrical flame suppressor, which has a large internal cross-sectional area, which helps the gas to fully expand and cool down quickly, thereby improving the flame suppression effect. In addition, the design of the air duct at the bottom of the flame suppressor avoids the problem of air flow interfering with each other in a double-tube configuration, ensuring shooting accuracy. In terms of firepower output, the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun also showed excellence. Since the 2A14 23mm cannon was prone to overheating, each barrel needed to be replaced after 100 rounds fired. To solve this problem, the designers equipped each cannon with two replacement barrels, which realized the cycle of replacement firing, ensuring continuous fire output.
The ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun is suitable for a wide range of ammunition, including armor-piercing incendiary shells, high-explosive shells, high-explosive tracer shells and shell-piercing tracer shells. Armor-piercing incendiary shells can penetrate 10 mm thick crushed homogeneous armor at a range of 1000 meters, while shell-piercing tracer shells can penetrate 28 mm thick armor at the same distance. This powerful armor-piercing capability gave the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun a significant advantage when dealing with armored vehicles.
However, despite the excellent performance of the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun in terms of firepower, stability, etc., its aiming system was relatively backward. When dealing with air targets, the ZAP-23 optical-mechanical sight was relied mainly on manual aiming and firing, while for ground targets, the T-3 straight-tube telescope was used for targeting. Compared with modern automatic fire control systems, this aiming method is relatively backward, but its low cost and certain actual combat effect are still a good choice for the Russian army.
The ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun, with its powerful firepower, stability and reliability, has maintained a strong vitality after decades of actual combat tests. While it faces some challenges in modern warfare, it still plays an important role in some regional conflicts.
New mobile anti-drone unit: a tactical weapon against air threats
The design concept of this new mobile anti-drone unit is to effectively weaken the reconnaissance and attack capabilities of enemy drones through rapid response and precision strikes. Its core configuration consisted of a pickup truck armed with a 12.7 mm machine gun and a 6x6 truck mounted with a ZU-23-2 23 mm anti-aircraft gun. This combination not only provided powerful fire support, but also ensured rapid maneuverability and flexible deployment of units on the battlefield.
The modified light truck chassis of the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun is a highlight of this unit. This improvement made the mobility of the system much higher, and the anti-aircraft guns were able to quickly adjust their position to adapt to rapid changes on the battlefield. Whether it is to respond to a drone threat from different directions, or a surprise attack against enemy drones, this anti-aircraft gun can quickly react and carry out defensive counterattacks in a timely manner to ensure the safety of Russian troops.
The ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft artillery system on display
In addition, this new mobile anti-drone unit is equipped with new combat units such as electronic warfare equipment and smoke-making vehicles. On the modern battlefield, electronic warfare equipment and smoke-making vehicles have shown significant strategic value, especially against the emerging combat force of unmanned aerial vehicles. Electronic warfare equipment has the ability to jam or disrupt the communication and navigation systems of incoming UAVs, causing their communication and navigation functions to fail or even deviate from their intended paths. This not only ensures that the user's critical assets are protected from potential drone attacks, but also obscures the movements and positions of their troops, increasing battlefield visibility. At the same time, smoke-making vehicles provide a powerful complement to electronic countermeasures by releasing a hot smoke screen. This smoke screen can effectively obscure the optical and thermal imaging equipment on the drone, making it difficult for the enemy to capture and attack their own targets. The combination of these two new combat forces gives the army greater safety and mobility, and also significantly increases the cost of the enemy's use of UAVs to complete the mission. It is capable not only of disrupting the enemy's surveillance and strike capabilities, but also of protecting the secrecy of its own exercises and preparations.
In the process of design and development, this new mobile anti-drone unit also draws on the experience of real combat and the extensive use of UAVs. Through continuous lessons learned and tactical methods improved, Russian military experts finally created this anti-drone system. The system is not only capable of effectively responding to current drone threats, but also has the ability to respond to more complex and diverse drone attacks in the future.
In order to ensure the maximum efficiency of this air defense facility, Russian military experts also stressed the importance of accurate detection capabilities, as well as electronic and optical jamming systems. Subsequently, by continuously improving the detection accuracy and jamming capabilities, the Russian army can more accurately identify and strike enemy UAVs, thereby ensuring the smooth and stable combat operations and injecting new vitality into Russia's defense of national security and regional stability.