The Come Back Alive Foundation has ordered the repair and modernization of the ZSU-23-4M Shilka SPAAG to the ZSU-23-4M-A1 standard, which includes installation of a new radar and fire-control system.
The foundation disclosed payment for part of the contract in its public financial report.
According to the report, 16 systems will be repaired and upgraded at a cost of UAH 337.5 million.
The ZSU-23-4M-A1 is a recent Ukrainian modernization of the Soviet-designed Shilka. The system passed testing in June 2019 and, according to the Defenыe Ministry, is ready for trial use in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The manufacturer’s modernization package for the ZSU-23-4M includes three options — ZSU-23-4M-A1, ZSU-23-4M-A2 and ZSU-23-4M-A3 — with the scope of upgrades increasing from A1 to A3.
The ZSU-23-4M-A1 version replaces the existing radar with a multifunctional Rokach-AS system and upgrades the analog computing system to a modern digital system.
The system is also fitted with a navigation unit and digital-to-analog converter modules.
The Rokach-AS radar can operate in 360-degree, search and automatic target-tracking modes. The new system significantly outperforms the original radar. The older system could not effectively detect drones and had a limited scanning sector, while the Rokach-AS can detect and track UAVs with a radar cross-section of about 0.01 square metres at ranges of up to 7 km.
Overall, maximum detection range has more than doubled, target-processing time has fallen from 18 seconds to 0.2 seconds, and the number of simultaneously tracked targets has risen from one to 20.
The ZSU-23-4M-A2 variant adds an electro-optical system in addition to the new radar. The system includes thermal and TV channels and a laser rangefinder.
The optical system enables target acquisition and automatic tracking at distances up to 10 km and can detect targets at up to 12 km.
The ZSU-23-4M-A3 variant also includes a mounting for four MANPADS, with a range of up to 5 km.
It was reported that by the end of 2020, the Defense Ministry planned to order the first two batches of upgraded ZSU-23-4 systems in the ZSU-23-4M-A1 configuration.
It is not publicly known whether that order was completed or in what numbers. However, modernized systems were spotted in use by Ukrainian forces several times in 2022–2023.
