The upgraded ZSU-23-4 Shilka displayed at ADEX. (Janes/Jeremy Binnie)
The Czechoslovak Group (CSG) is in the process of upgrading 23 of Azerbaijan's ZSU-23-4 Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns (SPAAGs) in collaboration with local company Sumgait Technologies Park (STP), a CSG representative told Janes at the Azerbaijan International Defence Exhibition 2024 (ADEX 2024) held in Baku from 24 to 26 September.
One of the upgraded Shilkas was displayed at the show fitted with a new rotating radar that CSG says can detect targets with a 1 m 2 radar cross-section at 20 km, a 0.1 m 2 cross-section at 10 km, and a 0.01 m 2 cross-section at 7 km. The radar can simultaneously track up to 100 targets at ranges of up to 15 km for ones with a 1 m 2 cross-section, 7 km for 0.1 m 2 , and up to 4 km for 0.01 m 2 . A new digital fire-control system is being installed to calculate the deflection needed to hit the targets.
The upgrade also includes the Elbit Systems COAPS-L electro-optical system, which is used to verify targets, and Elbit's VRC-950 radio. Three antennas for forward-facing directional radio frequency jamming have been fitted on the left side of the Shilka's turret, with an omni-directional jammer antenna positioned behind them.
The gas turbine engine that was originally used to power the Shilka's turret is being replaced with a Lombardini LDW1404 liquid-cooled diesel engine, and all the SPAAG's other machinery is being refurbished.
A surface-to-air missile from a manportable air-defence system (MANPADS) will be integrated with the modernised Shilka, with the product poster identifying it as the Verba, the latest Russian MANPADS. However, the CSG representative told Janes
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