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ZU-23

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NOTE: This article is about the multi-faction ZU-23 static turret in ArmA 2. For its semi-official counterpart in ArmA 3's Western Sahara Creator DLC, see ZU-23 (Western Sahara).


« The ZU-23 is an air-defense cannon made in Russia. It features two 2A14 23mm autocannons based on small trailer which functions as stationary mount for firing as well.
The weapon is aimed and fired manually and besides against aircraft, it can be used even against ground targets as troops or lightly armored wehicles.
Armoury Description[1]
 »


The ZU-23 is a static multi-purpose gun emplacement used by several BLUFOR, REDFOR and INDFOR factions in ArmA 2.

Overview[]

The ZU-23 is a Soviet-made twin-barrelled anti-aircraft gun turret.

It feeds from 40-round linked belts loaded with high-explosive (HE) shells. The ZU-23's twin 2A14 autocannons can attain a fire rate of up to 2,000 rounds per minute.[CfgWp 3][Formula 1] It has a muzzle velocity of 980 m/s[CfgMa 2], and its autocannons always fire shells in bursts of four shells per volley.[CfgWp 4] ZU-23 turrets always come stocked with 400 rounds split across ten 40-round ammoboxes.[CfgVh 1] It takes only 3 seconds to reload the ZU-23 with a fresh "magazine" of shells.[CfgWp 5]

The ZU-23's trailer allows the turret to be freely rotated in any direction horizontally.[CfgVh 2][CfgVh 3] For vertical rotation, elevation is limited to a maximum of 85 degrees[CfgVh 4] and a minimum depression of only 10 degrees.[CfgVh 5]

A powerful gun turret, the ZU-23 is a multi-purpose static defence gun and can be employed against lightly-armoured APCs, infantry, and low-flying helicopters at distances of up to 2,000 metres away. Though it is shorter-ranged than missile-based static turrets like the Igla, the ZU-23 compensates with an extremely high fire rate of 2,000 RPM, allowing it to shred aircraft and ground vehicles alike.

Its main drawbacks stem from the turret's lack of guidance systems, a rangefinder, or the ability to toggle enhanced vision modes. Since the dual autocannons are obviously unguided, it is far less effective at taking down fast-moving and high-flying jets. The meagre 40-round capacity of its "magazine" also hampers the ZU-23's ability to engage multiple targets at a time; it may be necessary to reload more than once to shoot down one target if the first volley of shells fails to score any hits.

Optics[]

Arma2-zu23-ironsight-overview

The ZU-23's ZAP-23 optical sight has a fixed magnification of 3.53x zoom.[CfgVh 6][Formula 2] Its reticle is coloured in black and is not illuminated. The sight cannot toggle enhanced vision modes, though the gunner does have the ability to wear their own night vision goggles whilst they are aiming through it.

The ZU-23 allows for zeroing to be manually adjusted, starting from a minimum of 100 metres up to a maximum of 2,000 metres (100, 200, 300, 400, 500, 600, 700, 800, 900, 1000, 1100, 1200, 1300, 1400, 1500, 1600, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2000).[CfgVh 7] By default, the ZU-23 is set to a zeroing of 600 metres.[CfgVh 8]

Ammunition[]

Ammo parameter Value
Base damage value 84[CfgAm 1]
Splash damage value 30[CfgAm 2]
Damage type Armour-Piercing + High-Explosive[note 1]
Aerodynamic friction -0.000824[CfgAm 3]
Muzzle velocity (m/s) 980[CfgMa 2]
Expected velocity (m/s) 900
[CfgAm 4][note 2]
Deflection angle (degrees) 10°[CfgAm 5]

Static ZU-23 turrets can only feed from one[note 3] type of "magazine":[CfgWp 6]

40Rnd[]

40-round belt stored in dual-feed ammoboxes, loaded exclusively with 23 mm high-explosive (HE) shells.[CfgMa 3]

Every third burst of shells fired will emit visible green tracers.[CfgMa 4] Its shells have a splash radius of 0.3 metres upon impact.[CfgAm 6]

Trivia[]

  • Prior to Patch 1.05's release, ZU-23s had a much lower fire rate of only 1,000 RPM. The patch corrected this by increasing it to a more realistic fire rate of 2,000 RPM.[2]
  • Following the release of the latest Steam version patches (as part of CorePatch), all ZU-23s - irrespective of faction, were granted the ability to manually adjust zeroing for the autocannons.[3] Prior to the update, ZU-23 gunners had to rely on their crosshairs (and a shred of luck) to hit targets at long ranges.
  • Until the release of ArmA 3's Jets DLC, the ZU-23 remained as the sole gun-based static AAA turret in the entire series.

Gallery[]

Config/script references[]

CfgAmmo

  1. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> hit
  2. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> indirectHit
  3. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> airFriction
  4. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> typicalSpeed
  5. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> deflecting
  6. ↑ CfgAmmo >> B_23mm_AA >> indirectHitRange

CfgMagazines

  1. ↑ CfgMagazines >> 40Rnd_23mm_AZP85 >> count
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 CfgMagazines >> 40Rnd_23mm_AZP85 >> initSpeed
  3. ↑ CfgMagazines >> 40Rnd_23mm_AZP85 >> ammo >> "B_23mm_AA"
  4. ↑ CfgMagazines >> 40Rnd_23mm_AZP85 >> tracersEvery

CfgWeapons

  1. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> manual >> dispersion
  2. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> manual >> recoil
  3. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> manual >> reloadTime
  4. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> manual >> burst >> "4"
  5. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> magazineReloadTime
  6. ↑ CfgWeapons >> 2A14 >> magazines[] >> {"40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","2000Rnd_23mm_AZP85"}

CfgVehicles

  1. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> magazines[] >> {"40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85","40Rnd_23mm_AZP85"}
  2. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> minTurn
  3. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> maxTurn
  4. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> maxElev
  5. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> minElev
  6. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> ViewOptics >> minFov >> "0.0708215"
  7. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> discreteDistance[] >> {100,200,300,400,500,600,700,800,900,1000,1100,1200,1300,1400,1500,1600,1700,1800,1900,2000}
  8. ↑ CfgVehicles >> ZU23_base >> Turrets >> MainTurret >> discreteDistanceInitIndex >> "5"

Formulae

  1. ↑ 60 / reloadTime = 60 / 0.03
  2. ↑ 0.25 / minFov = 0.25 / 0.0708215

Notes[]

  1. ↑ Due to the explosive token being set to a value of 0.6, the 2A14's 23 mm shells inflict 60% explosive-type damage and only 40% kinetic damage.
  2. ↑ Damage will be reduced if the projectile's velocity drops below this value.
  3. ↑ Static ZU-23 turrets technically have access to a second magazine loaded with two thousand shells instead of forty (Classname: 2000Rnd_23mm_AZP85). However, this second "magazine" is only used on ZSU-23-4 SPAAGs, and isn't available on static ZU-23s unless scripting commands or a custom addon are used to add this "magazine" to the turret's reserve ammo pool.

References[]

  1. ↑ Bohemia Interactive a.s., 2009, Mounted Weapons, Arma 2, viewed 5 March 2025, <https://www.arma2.com/arma-2-weaponry/mounted-weapons>.
  2. ↑ .kju et al. 2009, Arma 2: Version History, Bohemia Interactive Community Wiki, viewed 22 January 2026, <https://community.bistudio.com/wiki/Arma_2:_Version_History#Version_1.05>.
  3. ↑ Mazzon, M et al. 2019, CorePatch, GitHub, viewed 26 November 2019, <https://github.com/Goliath86/CorePatch/blob/master/Changelog.txt>.

External links[]

See also[]

Weapons of ARMA 2
Handguns CZ 75 D COMPACT 9 mm (P-07 DUTY, SP-01 PHANTOM) • G17 9 mm • M1911 .45 • M9 9 mm • Makarov 9 mm • Revolver .45
Submachine guns CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1 9 mm • MP5A5 9 mm (SD6) • PDW 9 mm • PP-19 Bizon 9 mm • Sa-61 Scorpion .32
Shotguns M1014 • Saiga 12K • AA-12
Carbines AKS-74U 5.45 mm* • G36 series* (G36C*, G36K*) • M4A1 5.56 mm (M4A1 M203, M4A3, M4A3 M203) • Mk16 CQC 5.56 mm • XM8 Compact 5.56 mm
Assault rifles AK-107 5.45 mm (AK-107 GP-25) • AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25*, AKS-74*) • AKM 7.62 mm • AKS 7.62 mm* • CZ 805 BREN A1 5.56 mm (CZ 805 A1 G1, CZ 805 BREN A2, CZ 805 B1 G1) • FN FAL 7.62 mm • G36A 5.56 mm* • L85A2 5.56 mm (L85A2 UGL) • M16A2 5.56 mm* (M16A2 M203*) • M16A4 5.56 mm (M16A4 M203) • SCAR series (Mk16, Mk16 EGLM, Mk17, Mk17 EGLM) • Sa-58 7.62 mm • XM8 series (XM8, XM8 M320)
Designated marksman rifles DMR 7.62 mm • L86A2 LSW 5.56 mm • M14 7.62 mm • Mk12 SPR 5.56 mm • Mk17 Sniper 7.62 mm • VSS Vintorez 9 mm • XM8 Sharpshooter 5.56 mm
Sniper rifles AS50 12.7 mm • CZ 550 9.3 mm • CZ 750 S1 M1 .308 • KSVK 12.7 mm* • Lee-Enfield .303 • LRR .338 • M107 .50* • M110 7.62 mm • M24 7.62 mm* (M40A3) • SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm*
Squad automatic weapons L110A1 5.56 mm • M249 SAW 5.56 mm* • MG36 5.56 mm* • RPK-74 5.45 mm • XM8 Automatic Rifle 5.56 mm
Machineguns L7A2 GPMG 7.62 mm • Mk 48 Mod 0 7.62 mm* • M240 7.62 mm* • M60E4 7.62 mm • PKP 7.62 mm • PKM 7.62 mm • UK-59 7.62 mm
Grenade launchers M32 • M79 • Mk13
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • 9K38 Igla • 9K115-2 Metis-M • FGM-148 Javelin • FIM-92F Stinger • M136 • M47 Dragon • MAAWS • NLAW • RPG-7V • RPG-18 • SMAW
Static AGS-30 • D-30 • DShKM • Igla AA Pod • KORD • L111A1 • L134A1 • M119A1 • M2 • M252 • Mk19 • Metis AT-13 • 2B14 Podnos • RBS-70 • Searchlight • SPG-9 • Stinger • TOW • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
* indicates partial DLC dependency.
Operation Arrowhead | British Armed Forces | Private Military Company | Army of the Czech Republic
Arma2-factionicon-cdf CDF - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Handguns Makarov 9 mm
Carbines AKS-74U 5.45 mm
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • AKS 7.62 mm
Sniper rifles SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machineguns PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • RPG-7V
Static AGS-30 • D-30 • DShKM • 2B14 Podnos • Searchlight • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Arma2-factionicon-chdkz ChDKZ - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Handguns Makarov 9 mm
Carbines AKS-74U 5.45 mm
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • AKM 7.62 mm • AKS 7.62 mm
Sniper rifles CZ 550 9.3 mm • SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machine guns PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • RPG-7V
Static AGS-30 • D-30 • DShKM • 2B14 Podnos • Searchlight • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Arma2-factionicon-takistaniarmy Takistani Army - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Handguns Makarov 9 mm • Revolver .45
Submachine guns PDW 9 mm
Carbines AKS-74U 5.45 mm • M4A1 5.56 mm
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • FN-FAL 7.62 mm • M16A2 5.56 mm (M16A2 M203)
Sniper rifles KSVK 12.7 mm • SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machineguns M240 7.62 mm • PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • Metis-M 9K115-2 • RPG-7V • RPG-18
Static AGS-30 • D-30 • Igla AA Pod • KORD • Metis AT-13 • 2B14 Podnos • Searchlight • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants. | Operation Arrowhead
Arma2-factionicon-takistanimilitia Takistani Militia - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • AKM 7.62 mm • AKS 7.62 mm • FN-FAL 7.62 mm
Sniper rifles Lee-Enfield .303
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machineguns PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • RPG-7V
Static AGS-30 • D-30 • DShKM • 2B14 Podnos • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Operation Arrowhead
Arma2-factionicon-napa NAPA - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Carbines AKS-74U 5.45 mm
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • AKM 7.62 mm • AKS 7.62 mm
Sniper rifles CZ 550 9.3 mm • SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machineguns PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers 9K32 Strela-2 • FIM-92F Stinger • RPG-7V
Static DShKM • 2B14 Podnos • Searchlight • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Arma2-factionicon-takistanirebels Takistani Rebels - Armoury (ARMA 2)
Assault rifles AK-74 5.45 mm (AK-74 GP-25, AKS-74) • AKM 7.62 mm • AKS 7.62 mm • FN-FAL 7.62 mm • M16A2 5.56 mm (M16A2 M203)
Sniper rifles Lee-Enfield .303 • SVD Dragunov 7.62 mm
Squad automatic weapons RPK-74 5.45 mm
Machineguns PKM 7.62 mm
Launchers FIM-92F Stinger • RPG-7V
Static D-30 • DShKM • 2B14 Podnos • SPG-9 • ZU-23
(Parenthesis) denote variants.
Operation Arrowhead
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