ZSU-23-2 MT-LB Mount?

[Feanor]

Is this a typical thing? I always thought that most MT-LB's in the Russian Army were unarmed. Anyone know more about this?

 

[tatra]

Is this a typical thing? I always thought that most MT-LB's in the Russian Army were unarmed. Anyone know more about this?

The use of an apc's as porté for support weapons is common practise in the Russian army (e.g. on BMDs and MT-LBs in Chechnya, but earlier also on BTR-50) as well as elsewhere (e.g. Afghanistan [including on BMP1 chassis], Lebanon, Iraq).
http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-mike/mike/mtlb_series/zu23/zu23-intro.html
http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-mike/mike/mtlb_series/zu23-iraq/zu23iraq-intro.html
http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-bravo/bravo/btr-50_series/iq-aa-fs/iqaafs-intro.html
http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-mike/mike-number-us/m113_series/zu-23/zu23-intro.html
http://www.jedsite.info/fulltrack-mike/mike-number-us/m113_series/nile-23/nile23-intro.html

http://www.aeronautics.ru/img002/chechnyamilapc26.jpg
from http://www.aeronautics.ru/chechnya/021900.htm

 

[eckherl]

Is this a typical thing? I always thought that most MT-LB's in the Russian Army were unarmed. Anyone know more about this?

Kind of a cheap effective way of placing a weapons platform like this for area suppression. The new Iraqi Army likes theirs

 

[Feanor]

Ahh. I've heard of the BTR mounted ones. I've also heard of the Strela-10 which mounted and wired together 8 Strela-3 missiles on an MT-LB chassis.

 

[tatra]

Ahh. I've heard of the BTR mounted ones. I've also heard of the Strela-10 which mounted and wired together 8 Strela-3 missiles on an MT-LB chassis.

SAM versions are dedicated designs, not improvisations.

 

[Feanor]

Really? So the ZSU-23-2 MT-LB would not be a viable AA platform? Because the ZSU-23-2 is an AAA.

 

[tatra]

Really? So the ZSU-23-2 MT-LB would not be a viable AA platform? Because the ZSU-23-2 is an AAA.

1. The whole point of a twin 23mm portee often is its use as a fire support platform for ground forces, not principally as AAA.
2. While a portee provides superior mobility to the AAA, it does not constitute a 'system' much in the same way that there is a big difference between an APC with a guy in the back wielding a MANPADS and e.g. LeFlaSys on Wiesel or Atilgan on M113. SA-13 Gopher (originally with 2x2 Strela 10 but in some modernized version with 2x4 "IGLA" [SA-16 Gimlet, SA-18 Grouse] MANPADS) falls in the latter category.

23mm portee pics: http://pvo.guns.ru/zu23/zu23_chechnya.htm