Ukraine revives Soviet-era Shilka for modern air defence
Besides Western artillery air defence systems like the old Gepard or the new Skynex, the Ukrainian army also operates weapons designed in the USSR with a similar purpose. An example is the ZSU-23-4 air defence system, which—when it first entered service—was a groundbreaking weapon with exceptional capabilities.
The Ukrainians are bringing ZSU-23-4 Shilka air defence systems back into service. This weapon was widely used during the repulsion of the first Russian aggression in 2014. However, as noted by the Defence 24 website, over the years, many Shilkas in various technical conditions were placed into storage.
Since the middle of this year, the stored equipment has been undergoing a general overhaul and is being restored to operational status. However, this probably does not involve—unlike in the case of the Polish ZSU-23-4 Biała sets—a simultaneous modernisation and enhancement of the old weapon's capabilities.
Photos from air defence training exercises, where soldiers are training on refurbished Shilkas, have been posted by the Ukrainian 242nd Training Centre of Units.
In addition to the systems that have been serving in the Ukrainian army for years, the Ukrainian soldiers have also received Shilkas transferred from Poland—these are both sets in their basic version and those modernised at the beginning of the century ZSU-23-4 Biała.
ZSU-23-4 Shilka air defence system
The ZSU-23-4 Shilka is a groundbreaking weapon. When designing this equipment in the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Russians intended it to provide close air defence for advancing armoured and mechanised troops.
Therefore, on one chassis, derived from the PT-76 amphibious tank, everything necessary for combat was included: a radar responsible for detecting and tracking the target, a guidance system based on radar indications, and four rapid-fire 23 mm guns, providing a theoretical rate of fire of about 3,000 per minute.
The Shilka was fully autonomous and, in addition, could fire on the move, although this drastically limited its effectiveness. Over time, artillery systems lost significance in favour of artillery-missile systems—like the 2K22 Tunguska or Pantsir—the war in Ukraine shows they can still be useful.
Although the capabilities of Shilkas (due to the lack of programmable ammunition, among other things) are limited, in the case of less demanding targets, such as drones from the Shahed family, this type of weapon can successfully fulfil its tasks, allowing for effective and cost-efficient destruction of both aerial and ground targets.
