Air Defense

30 mm 2A38 autocannon

The 2A38 is a Soviet twin-barrel 30 mm autocannon developed in the 1970s for the 2S6 Tunguska short-range air-defense system. It uses the Gast principle, water cooling, and 30x165 mm ammunition to deliver very high burst fire from a compact gun package, and the later 2A38M version carried the family into Tunguska-M and Pantsir-S1.

30 mm 2A38 autocannon, Twin-barrel 30 mm autocannon, Air Defense
Image source: Commons 2A38 Museum Image 79-54
Profile / Specs

Specifications

Caliber
30x165 mm
Barrels
Twin barrel, Gast principle
Action
Gas-operated
Rate of fire
About 4,060-4,810 rounds per minute combined
Muzzle velocity
960-980 m/s
Weight
195 kg gun only, without coolant
Cooling
Water cooled
Variants
  • 2A38M
Mounted On
Firing weaponWeapon typeFiring evidence
2K22 Tunguska, Tracked self-propelled gun-missile air defense system, Air Defense2K22 TunguskaTracked short-range air-defense system

WeaponSystems.net states that the 2A38 was first introduced on the 2S6 Tunguska.

Sources: WeaponSystems.net 30mm 2A38

Sources: WeaponSystems.net 30mm 2A38

Timeline

30 mm 2A38 autocannon Key Events

  1. Development work begins in the Soviet Union

    WeaponSystems.net describes the 2A38 as a late-Cold-War Soviet autocannon developed in the 1970s.

    Sources: WeaponSystems.net 30mm 2A38

  2. The gun enters service on Tunguska

    WeaponSystems.net says the 2A38 entered service in the early 1980s, when it was fielded on the 2S6 Tunguska short-range air-defense system.

    Sources: WeaponSystems.net 30mm 2A38

  3. The 2A38M modernization reaches Tunguska-M

    GlobalSecurity lists the 2K22M / 2S6M upgrade in 1990 with 2A38M autocannons, showing the family's move into the Tunguska-M generation.

    Sources: GlobalSecurity 2S6M Tunguska

2A38M Follow-On Use

The follow-on 2A38M kept the same twin-30 mm air-defense role and reappears on later Russian gun-missile systems.

VariantPlatformDocumented note
2A38M2K22 Tunguska, Tracked self-propelled gun-missile air defense system, Air Defense2K22 Tunguska-MGlobalSecurity lists the 2K22M / 2S6M introduction in 1990 with 2A38M autocannons.
2A38MPantsir-S1, Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun system, Air DefensePantsir-S1CSIS identifies the baseline Pantsir system as carrying two 30 mm 2A38M cannons.

This table tracks the family's later gun variant rather than the original 2A38 mount on Tunguska.

Media

30 mm 2A38 autocannon Images

30 mm 2A38 autocannon, Twin-barrel 30 mm autocannon, Air Defense - view 1
Source: Commons 2A38 Museum Image 79-55
30 mm 2A38 autocannon, Twin-barrel 30 mm autocannon, Air Defense - view 2
Source: Commons Tunguska Turret Image
Related Weapon Systems
2K22 Tunguska, Tracked self-propelled gun-missile air defense system, Air DefenseAir Defense2K22 TunguskaTracked self-propelled gun-missile air defense systemThe 2K22 Tunguska is a Soviet-designed tracked short-range air defense system that combines twin 30 mm autocannons, 9M311-family surface-to-air missiles, search and tracking radars, and a protected self-propelled chassis. Built to cover maneuver formations against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, and later unmanned threats, it appears in the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War on both Russian and Ukrainian sides, with Russian combat losses and Ukrainian missile firings documented in open sources.
30x165 mm ammunition, 30x165 mm autocannon ammunition family, MunitionsMunitions30x165 mm ammunition30x165 mm autocannon ammunition family30x165 mm ammunition is a Soviet-origin autocannon ammunition family marketed by STV GROUP, MSM Group, and Yugoimport SDPR for Soviet-pattern 30 mm automatic guns. STV lists the family for 2A38, 2A42, and 2A72 autocannons mounted on BMP-2, BMP-3, BMD-2, BMD-3, and BTR-80A platforms, with HE, HEI, HEI-T, HE-T, HE-SR-T, and AP-T variants. Conflict Armament Research also documented a single 30 x 165 mm cartridge ammunition item in its Iraq sample of Islamic State materiel, without identifying the specific round variant or firing platform.
2A72 30 mm automatic cannon, 30 mm dual-feed automatic cannon, ArtilleryArtillery2A72 30 mm automatic cannon30 mm dual-feed automatic cannonThe 2A72 is a Russian 30x165 mm dual-feed automatic cannon designed by KBP Instrument Design Bureau and manufactured by Tulamashzavod Joint Stock Company. It is a lighter, recoil-operated 2A42-family gun used as a coaxial cannon on BMP-3 and BMD-4M-type turrets and as the main weapon on 30 mm BTR-80A/BTR-82A installations, with direct open-source reporting tying BTR-82A 2A72 fire to fighting near Latakia during the 2011 Syrian Civil War.
2A14 23 mm cannon, 23 mm gas-operated autocannon, Air DefenseAir Defense2A14 23 mm cannon23 mm gas-operated autocannonThe 2A14 is the air-cooled 23 x 152B mm autocannon at the core of ZU-23 and ZU-23-2 short-range air-defense guns, with a quick-change barrel and a belt-feed layout that can be arranged from either side. Public conflict evidence most often documents it through the mounts that carry it: ZU-23-2 guns in Ukrainian service, SPLA-N air-defense fire in South Kordofan, Armenian and Artsakh losses in Nagorno-Karabakh, Houthi firing around Hudaydah, Tigray Defence Forces heavy weapons, and 2A14-pattern or ZU-23-2-pattern weapons with rebel forces in northern Mali.
Pantsir-S1, Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun system, Air DefenseAir DefensePantsir-S1Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun systemThe Pantsir-S1 is a Russian mobile point-defense system that combines 57E6-family command-guided surface-to-air missiles, twin 30 mm 2A38M automatic cannon, target-acquisition radar, engagement radar, and electro-optical fire control on a wheeled combat vehicle. It is designed to protect military units, air-defense sites, infrastructure, and longer-range air-defense formations against aircraft, helicopters, cruise missiles, precision weapons, and UAVs, with documented or reported conflict relevance in Ukraine, Syria, Libya, Yemen, and Sudan.
Pantsir-S2, Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun system, Air DefenseAir DefensePantsir-S2Self-propelled short-range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft gun systemThe Pantsir-S2 is a Russian modernized member of the Pantsir missile-gun air-defense family, retaining the truck-mounted 57E6-family missile and twin 30 mm gun layout while adding a new SOTS S-band search radar and longer stated missile reach than the baseline Pantsir-S1. Open sources place the variant in Russian service from 2015, in Russia's Syrian deployment at Hmeymim, and in Russian service during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War.

Sources

WeaponSystems.net 30mm 2A38Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports 2A38 origin, design, firepower, platform relationship to the 2S6 Tunguska, and general specifications. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Commons Category:2A38Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the 2A38 item's designer and manufacturer metadata, plus the 195 kg mass and 30 mm ammunition family. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Army Guide 2A38M GunPublisher: Army Guide | Note: Supports the twin 30 mm 2A38M cannon's water cooling, environmental operating range, and identification as the Tunguska gun family. | Accessed: 2026-06-23GlobalSecurity 2S6M TunguskaPublisher: GlobalSecurity.org | Note: Supports the 1990 2K22M / 2S6M introduction and the 2A38M gun line used on the Tunguska-M upgrade. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Pantsir S-1 - Missile Threat - CSISPublisher: CSIS Missile Threat | Note: Supports the Pantsir-S1 baseline armament of two 30 mm 2A38M cannons. | Accessed: 2026-06-27Commons 2A38 Museum Image 79-54Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Commons museum photograph of a 2A38-pattern gun display. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Commons 2A38 Museum Image 79-55Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Commons museum photograph of a 2A38-pattern gun display. | Accessed: 2026-06-23Commons Tunguska Turret ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a Commons parade photograph showing a Tunguska turret with 2A38 armament. | Accessed: 2026-06-23