ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gunSide: Yemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD); licensed production in China, Romania, and North Korea / Soviet Union / Russia, China, Romania, North KoreaThe ZPU-4 is a Soviet quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage. In Yemen, open-source reporting connects ZPU-4-armed technicals to anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces, giving the Cold War gun a continued role as mobile low-altitude air defense and direct-fire support.Tag archive
heavy machine gun Weapon Systems
Weapon systems and military equipment tagged heavy machine gun.
6 weapon systemsCategory
Air Defense
Systems that contest aircraft, missiles, helicopters, and drones.
ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gunSide: Yemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD); licensed production in China, Romania, and North Korea / Soviet Union / Russia, China, Romania, North KoreaThe ZPU-4 is a Soviet quadruple 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around four KPV/KPVT heavy machine guns on a four-wheel carriage. In Yemen, open-source reporting connects ZPU-4-armed technicals to anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces, giving the Cold War gun a continued role as mobile low-altitude air defense and direct-fire support.
ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gunSingle-barrel 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gunSide: Houthi-aligned forcesBuilt: No. 2 Degtyarev Plant / Soviet UnionThe ZPU-1 is the single-barrel member of the Soviet ZPU family, mounting a 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun on a light two-wheel carriage. In Yemen Civil War sourcing it appears in the Yemeni Army inventory and in technical-mounted configurations, making it a low-level air-defense and direct-fire weapon rather than a modern radar-guided system.Category
Infantry Weapons
Portable weapons used by soldiers and small units.
DShK12.7 mm heavy machine gunSide: Ukraine / Hamas / Houthi-aligned forces / Yemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: Tula Ordnance Factory / Soviet state arsenals / Soviet UnionThe DShK is a Soviet 12.7 mm heavy machine gun designed by Vasily Degtyaryov and refined with Georgy Shpagin's belt-feed system. Built for anti-aircraft, anti-vehicle, and infantry support roles, the weapon remains relevant in Ukraine because inherited DShK and DShKM guns can be adapted for trench support or mounted in mobile air-defense teams against slow Russian drones, and Hamas imagery from the Israel-Hamas War shows a pickup-mounted DShK during the October 7 attack on Israel.
NSV12.7 mm heavy machine gunSide: Russia / UkraineBuilt: Metallist JSC / West Kazakhstan Machine-Building Company / Soviet Union / KazakhstanThe NSV Utes is a Soviet 12.7x108 mm heavy machine gun designed by Nikitin, Sokolov, and Volkov as a lighter replacement for older heavy machine guns. It can be used from a tripod, vehicle mount, or remote station against light armor, firing points, personnel, and low-flying aerial targets; in the Russia-Ukraine War it remains relevant because legacy stocks, improvised vehicle mounts, and vehicle-mounted NSVT variants continue to appear on battlefield equipment.
Zastava M02 Coyote12.7 mm heavy machine gunSide: Yemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: Zastava Arms / SerbiaThe Zastava M02 Coyote is a Serbian 12.7 mm heavy machine gun derived from Zastava's M87/NSV-pattern weapon and mounted on a tripod for crew-served long-range fire. In the Yemen Civil War, Amnesty International documented Serbian-made M02 Coyote guns among weapons used by UAE-allied militias in Hodeidah, linking the system to coalition-aligned ground forces rather than regular Serbian service.
KPV14.5 mm heavy machine gunSide: Ukraine / Opposition and anti-government forcesBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD) / Soviet Union / RussiaThe KPV is a Soviet 14.5x114 mm heavy machine gun designed by Semyon Vladimirov and produced at the V. A. Degtyarev Plant. Its high-energy cartridge made it useful against light armor, field positions, small craft, and low-flying aircraft, so the family spread from the original infantry gun into KPVT vehicle guns, ZPU anti-aircraft mounts, and modern improvised mounts seen in the Russia-Ukraine War.