Weapon tag archive

Technical Weapons and Military Equipment

Browse 5 weapon systems and military equipment entries tagged Technical, grouped by category with images, specifications, conflict context, and sources.

5 weapon systems

ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun, 14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gun, Air Defense

Air DefenseZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun14.5 mm quadruple towed anti-aircraft gunSide: Yemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD) / Various manufacturers / 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.

2A14 23 mm cannon, 23 mm gas-operated autocannon, Air Defense

Air Defense2A14 23 mm cannon23 mm gas-operated autocannonSide: Rebel and jihadist armed groupsBuilt: Tulamashzavod / Soviet Union / RussiaThe 2A14 is the air-cooled 23 x 152B mm autocannon used in ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft mounts and improvised single-barrel installations. In the Mali War, investigators documented a 2A14-pattern cannon and related ZU-23-2-pattern weapons with northern rebel forces, where the high-rate gun fit vehicle-mounted fire support and short-range air-defense roles.

ZPU-1 anti-aircraft gun, Single-barrel 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gun, Air Defense

Air DefenseZPU-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.

M167 Vulcan, Towed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gun, Air Defense

Air DefenseM167 VulcanTowed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gunSide: Houthi-aligned forcesBuilt: U.S. Army Weapons Command / General Electric / United StatesThe M167 Vulcan is a U.S.-origin towed short-range air-defense gun built around the 20 mm M168 six-barrel rotary cannon, a carriage-mounted adaptation of the Vulcan family for close-in defense against aircraft and ground targets. Later M167A2 PIVADS upgrades improved the fire-control subsystem, while Yemen imagery shows Houthi forces using captured guns on improvised vehicle mounts as mobile direct-fire weapons.

ZPU-2, Twin 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gun, Air Defense

Air DefenseZPU-2Twin 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gunSide: IraqUkraineYemeni government and coalition forcesBuilt: V. A. Degtyarev Plant (ZiD) / Licensed Chinese and Polish production / Soviet Union / China / PolandThe ZPU-2 is a Soviet twin 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around two KPV heavy machine guns on a two-wheel carriage. Captured Iraqi examples, Yemeni truck mounts, and Ukraine's Czech-supplied MR-2 Viktor systems show how the Cold War gun shifted from low-altitude air defense into mobile direct-fire and counter-UAV work.