Air defence artillery
ZPU family
ZPU-1 / ZPU-2 / ZPU-4 (14.5 mm)
Medium
RU
Anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, towed or vehicle-mounted — very short range
Towed anti-aircraft machine guns with one, two or four 14.5 mm KPV barrels (since 1949). Simple, cheap and used in more than 50 countries; later analysis rated it the most dangerous opponent of US helicopters in Vietnam. Often mounted on pickups (technicals) or armoured vehicles. Optically aimed, so there is no radar signal for a warning receiver to pick up.
Learn more in the AirDefense Academy →Dimensionsfor imagery analysis
- ZPU-1 (travel)
- 3.44 × 1.62 × 1.34 m; 413 kg
- ZPU-2 (travel)
- 3.54 × 1.92 × 1.83 m; 994 kg (firing 639 kg)
- ZU-2 (travel)
- 3.87 × 1.37 × 1.10 m; 649 kg
- ZPU-4 (travel)
- 4.53 × 1.72 × 2.13 m; 1,810 kg
- Dimension source
- Wikipedia; US Army TRADOC Worldwide Equipment Guide (ODIN)
General
- Role
- Anti-aircraft heavy machine gun, towed or vehicle-mounted — very short range
- Manufacturer
- Degtyaryov Plant (Soviet Union)
- In service
- 1949
- Variants
- ZPU-1 (1 barrel), ZPU-2 and ZU-2 (2), ZPU-4 (4); copies: Type 56/58/75 (CN), MR-4 (RO), PKM-2/-4 (PL); MR-2 Viktor (ZPU-2 on a pickup, Ukraine 2022)
- Crew
- 4–5
- Users
- > 50 countries, incl. Russia, Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, North Korea, Yemen; also non-state groups
Weapon
- Gun
- KPV 14.5 × 114 mm
- Rate of fire
- ≈ 600 rds/min per barrel (practical ≈ 150)
- Range
- Effective ≈ 0.8 NM (1.4 km); maximum 2.2–4.3 NM (4–8 km, sources differ)
- Altitude
- Effective ≈ 4,600 ft (1.4 km); maximum ≈ 16,400 ft (5 km)
- Elevation
- Up to +88–90°, 360° traverse
Threat
- RWR
- No — optically aimed, no radar
- Combat record
- Vietnam, Afghanistan, Syria (helicopters), Donbas; widely on technicals in Libya, Syria and Yemen
- Countermeasure
- Stay above ≈ 5,000 ft and at distance; IR and radar countermeasures do not work
- Threat level
- Medium — short range, but everywhere and invisible to sensors
News archive 0
Analysed reports from the RU Mil Tracker about this system, newest first. Archive since 2026-07-17.
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