Shilka ZSU (Zenitaya Samokhodnaya Ustanovka) Self-Propelled Anti-Aircraft Gun features four liquid-cooled 23mm cannons which are capable of firing upwards to a range of 3000m. Targeting can be achieved either optically by vehicle crew, or electronically by on-board radar, which can be folded flat in transit. Although considered non-amphibious, the Shilka is capable of fording water up to a depth of just over 1m.
Vehicle Description
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Design[]
Armed with quad 23 mm guns, the Shilka is a modified variant of the towed ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun. Entering service with the Soviet Armed Forces in 1964, the Shilka has since seen use with many Warsaw Pact and non-NATO countries worldwide.
Features
The Shilka serves as the Soviet military's counterpart to the M113 Vulcan used by American forces. Like the M113 Vulcan, it is a gun-based AAA vehicle that can quickly shred enemy helicopters with ease through concentrated bursts of cannon fire.
Compared to its American counterpart, the Shilka is far superior firepower-wise since it has four guns instead of a single Gatling cannon. Not only is its fire rate much higher, but each shell technically inflicts more damage as well, which makes it highly effective at shredding through the armour plating of medium/heavy attack helicopters like the AH-1 and AH-64 alike.
Drawbacks
The Shilka's greatest weakness stems from its poor mobility. It is unable to keep pace with either the T-72 or T-80 Medium/Heavy Tanks. Even when driving at its top speed (50 km/h), it cannot match the normal cruising speed of both tanks (let alone their top speeds).
At the same time, it isn't amphibious, can't transport troops, and is significantly slower than both the BMP-1 and BMP-2 Infantry Fighting Vehicles. This limits it strictly to serving as an AA vehicle only.
The Shilka's biggest threat, however, comes from high-flying jets like the A-10. Since the Shilka's autocannons fire unguided shells, the A-10 can simply launch air-to-ground missiles from standoff distances or drop laser-guided bombs directly onto the Shilka itself with impunity without the latter being able to retaliate (landing hits on jets while firing on the move will be difficult if not outright impossible).
Crew Capacity
The Shilka has a maximum seating capacity of three, enough for the driver, a gunner, and the commander.
Protection[]
The Shilka 250 points worth of armour plating.
Armament[]
The gunner position controls the quad AZP-23 cannons:
AZP-23[]
Base damage value
Initial velocity (m/s)
40
900
Quad 23 mm cannons. Fires HE-type shells that are powerful against infantry, unarmoured/lightly-armoured ground vehicles and helicopters.
It can reach a fire rate of up to 600 rounds per minute and has a muzzle velocity of 900 m/s. Accuracy-wise, the cannons have a dispersion of 0.0015 rad regardless of range. The shells themselves have a blast radius of 2 metres.
Trivia[]
Because of the overly simplistic hitpoint system used by vehicles in Cold War Assault, the Shilka is (amusingly) capable of disabling even M1A1 tanks due to its extremely high rate of fire.
This is generally not feasible in practice however, as the M1A1 will easily destroy the Shilka with a single cannon shell.
Prior to Update 1.30 for Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis (the initial name for Cold War Assault), the Shilka's AZP-23 cannons were much weaker and were not able to consistently damage aircraft unless the gunner scored direct hits.[1]
Gallery[]
Ambushing an FIA convoy. While not ideal, the Shilka can serve as a mobile anti-infantry/light vehicle gun.
The ZSU-23-4 Shilka is a combination of a proven radar system, the chassis of the PT-76 light tank, and four 23 mm cannons. The result of this amalgamation is a vehicle displaying the key assets of mobility, firepower and accuracy. The ZSU-23-4 outclassed all NATO anti-aircraft guns at the time of its introduction, and it is still regarded as a major threat to low-flying aircraft. The Shilka was widely used throughout the Warsaw Pact and other pro-Soviet states.
Library Description
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Design[]
Design-wise, the Armed Assault Shilka remains the same as its Cold War Assault counterpart.
Armament
The Shilka's turret is outfitted with four 23 mm anti-aircraft guns that feed from a single belt with 2,000 rounds of high-explosive (HE) shells.
Features
It retains the same role, configuration, and ammunition loadout of its Soviet predecessor. It is mostly unchanged from its Cold War days, and remains as a light, gun-based, self-propelled AAA vehicle.
Since its turret is able to depress low enough to attack ground targets, it can also be utilised as a powerful anti-infantry vehicle. Care should still be taken when operating the Shilka in this role however, as it cannot retaliate against targets that manage to get within the minimum depression range of its cannons.
Drawbacks
The Shilka's gun optics cannot zoom in on distant targets. Just like its Cold War Assault predecessor, the Shilka is lightly armoured and will only be able to resist limited amounts of autocannon fire. Against any kind of dedicated anti-vehicle weapons, it will be easily destroyed within a matter of seconds.
Crew Capacity
The Shilka contains enough seats for a crew of three that consists of the driver, a gunner, and the commander. No passengers may be carried either internally or externally.
Protection[]
The Shilka has a base armour value of 160.
Hull[]
Shilka hulls can withstand up to 160 points of damage.
Engine[]
The engine can only survive 56 points of damage before failing.
Treads[]
Both tracks can incur only 24 points of damage before breaking.
Turret[]
The Shilka's turret is able to take up to 160 points of damage.
Armament[]
The gunner position controls the quad AZP-85 cannons:
AZP-85[]
Base damage value
Initial velocity (m/s)
84
980
Quad 23 mm cannons. Fires HE shells that are strong against infantry, unarmoured/lightly armoured ground vehicles, as well as helicopters and low-flying fixed-wing jets.
They can attain a fire rate of up to ~ 1,000 RPM and have muzzle velocities of 980 m/s. Fired shells have minute blast radii of 0.3 metres only.
Trivia[]
Unlike in Cold War Assault, Armed Assault's AZP-23s are now designated as AZP-85.
Prior to Patch 1.06, the Shilka was not configured properly and had "weak" armour that categorised it on the same level as light vehicles. This meant that AI vehicle crews would attempt to destroy the Shilka with their machine guns instead of cannons or missiles (if they had either), while infantry would fruitlessly open fire on it with small arms.[2]
Gallery[]
ArmA 2[]
The ZSU-23 Shilka is used by several BLUFOR and REDFOR factions in ArmA 2.
Overview[]
Roles:
Low altitude anti-aircraft defence
Fire support
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The ZSU-23-4 Shilka is a combination of a proven radar system, the chassis of the PT-76 light tank, and four 23 mm cannons. The result of this amalgamation is a vehicle displaying the key assets of mobility, firepower and accuracy. The ZSU-23-4 outclassed all NATO anti-aircraft guns at the time of its introduction and it is still regarded as a major threat to low-flying aircraft. The Shilka was widely used throughout the Warsaw Pact and other pro-Soviet states.
Armoury Description
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Design[]
Returning from Armed Assault, the ArmA 2 ZSU continues to function in the same role and capacity as its two predecessors.
Armament
The ZSU's turret is outfitted with four 23 mm anti-aircraft guns that feed from a single belt with 2,000 rounds of high-explosive (HE) shells.
Features
The ZSU once again returns to serve as a low-tech counterpart to modern AA vehicles.
Drawbacks
Lacking modern electronics, the ZSU is outdated by contemporary standards. Since the ZSU lacks access to infrared-guided missiles like either of its Russian or American counterparts, it is largely outclassed in the short-range air defence role by both.
Last but not least, the guns do not support automatic zeroing. Landing hits on aircraft is solely dependent on the gunner being able to quickly estimate the velocity of a target maintain a steady aim for the entire duration of the engagement.
Crew Capacity
The ZSU is designed to support a crew of three consisting of the driver, a gunner and the commander. It cannot transport any additional passengers.
Camouflage[]
Woodland
Insurgent
Desert
1/3
Woodland: Olive green paint scheme with dark brown camouflage blobs. Only used on CDF ZSU-23-4s.
Insurgent: Olive green paint scheme with spraypainted stroke patterns. Used by ChDKZ-operated ZSU-23-4s.
Desert: Standard two-tone desert tan/olive green camouflage scheme. Used on ZSU-23-4s operated by the Takistani Army.
Protection[]
The ZSU has a base armour value of 160.
Successful strikes to any of the following highlighted sections will inflict full damage to the component:
LEGEND Green = Hull Orange = Engine Light blue = Treads Maroon = Turret
Hull[]
The hull can take 160 points of damage.
Engine[]
The engine can resist 160 points of damage before failing. A damaged engine will prevent the ZSU from attaining its top speed.
Treads[]
Both tracks can only survive 48 points of damage. At least 30% of damage is shared with the ZSU's main "health" pool.
Turret[]
The turret can incur up to 160 points of damage.
Armament[]
The gunner position controls the quad AZP-85 cannons. For optics, the gunner's sight is able to toggle a night vision mode and has variable zoom capability:
AZP-85[]
Base damage value
Aerodynamic friction
Initial velocity (m/s)
84
-0.000824
980
Quad 23 mm cannons. Fires HE shells that are highly effective against infantry, unarmoured/lightly armoured ground vehicles, as well as helicopters and low-flying fixed-wing jets.
They can attain a fire rate of up to ~ 2,000 RPM and have muzzle velocities of 980 m/s. Accuracy-wise; it has a dispersion of 0.00025 rad. The shells have a blast radius of only 0.3 metres.
A rangefinder is available but only manual zeroing is supported. Manual zeroing starts at a minimum of 100 m up to a maximum of 1800 m. Any adjustments are made with increments/decrements of 100 m.
Trivia[]
The ZSU is the only tracked AAA vehicle in ArmA 2 that is utilised by multiple factions. Both the American M6 Linebacker and Russian 2S6M Tunguska are exclusive to their respective factions.
Just like in Armed Assault, ArmA 2's AZP-23 cannons are also designated as AZP-85 rather than AZP-23.
Prior to the latest Steam version patches (CorePatch), the ZSU's gunner was not able to toggle a night vision mode. Automatic zeroing was not available and zeroing up to 2000 m was also possible, though it was subsequently reduced to 1800 m.[3]
The information below details unused, pre-release or removed content.
A unique variant for the NAPA faction can be spawned through the use of scripting commands (Classname: ZSU_Gue_CP).
It did not originally exist as part of ArmA 2's assets and was only added after the release of the latest Community Configuration Project/CorePatch updates.
In spite of its "inclusion", the NAPA variant cannot be manually placed in the mission editor as the vehicle is deliberately hidden. Scripting commands or a custom addon to "enable" the asset in the editor is still required to properly utilise it in normal gameplay.
Soviet Union - Vehicles (ArmA: Cold War Assault)
SLA - Vehicles (ArmA: Armed Assault)
CDF - Vehicles (ArmA 2)
ChDKZ - Vehicles (ArmA 2)
Takistani Army - Vehicles (ArmA 2)