Naval Systems

AK-130 naval gun

Also known as
  • AK-130
  • A-218
  • ZIF-94
  • 130 mm/70 AK-130
  • 130mm AK-130
  • AK-130-MR-184

The AK-130 is a Soviet 130 mm twin-barrel automatic naval gun mount built for destroyers and cruisers, pairing high-volume shipboard fire with MR-184 fire-control support. Its catalog conflict record is narrow: public reports in 2024 documented Russian forces adapting AK-130 naval-gun hardware and ammunition onto an M-46 towed-artillery carriage in Ukraine.

AK-130 naval gun, 130 mm twin-barrel automatic naval gun, Naval Systems
Image source: Commons U.S. Navy AK-130 Firing Image

Role in Conflicts

Profile / Specs

Profile

Origin
Soviet Union
Built by
Arsenal
Type
130 mm twin-barrel automatic naval gun
Service note
Late Cold War naval system; adopted into Soviet service in 1985 and later documented in a Russian land-artillery adaptation in Ukraine
Designer
PO Arsenal / KB Arsenal
Designed
Single-barrel A-217 work began before the twin AK-130 / ZIF-94 configuration entered service in 1985
Produced
Early 1980s through the 1990s in Soviet and Russian service inventories
Number built
About 45 produced, according to WeaponSystems.net

Specifications

Caliber
130 mm / 70 caliber
Configuration
Twin-barrel, triaxially stabilized automatic naval gun mount
Fire control
MR-184 / MP-184 radar, TV guidance, laser ranging, ballistic calculation, and target-selection equipment
Rate of fire
10-40 rounds per minute per gun in NavWeaps data; WeaponSystems.net gives 10-35 rounds per minute per barrel
Maximum range
About 23 km against surface targets; about 15 km against aircraft; about 8 km against missiles
Muzzle velocity
About 850 m/s
Ammunition
Fixed 130 mm rounds; HE and anti-aircraft projectile types are listed in open reference sources
Mount weight
About 100 tons for the twin mount in NavWeaps data
Elevation and traverse
-12 to +80 degrees elevation; about +/-200 degrees train
Gun Mount And Fire Control

The AK-130 is best understood as a complete shipboard mount rather than only a barrel. NavWeaps describes a twin automatic mount controlled by the MP-184/MR-184 fire-control radar system, while WeaponSystems.net identifies MR-184 radar, TV guidance, laser range finding, an automatic loader, and below-deck ammunition stowage as central parts of the system.

Primary role

Dual-purpose naval artillery for surface, coastal, and air-target engagements from large surface combatants.

Ukraine adaptation

The documented 2024 land-use case was a field adaptation that moved AK-130-family gun hardware and ammunition onto an M-46 carriage.

Evidence limit

The conflict row is tied to the reported hybrid artillery system, not to routine shipboard AK-130 fire in the Black Sea.

Sources: NavWeaps AK-130; WeaponSystems 130mm AK-130; Army Recognition Hybrid Gun; Militarnyi Hybrid Naval-Towed Systems.

Variants

Public references treat the AK-130 as the twin 130 mm naval mount selected after single-gun development work did not meet the required rate of fire.

VariantConfigurationDesignation notes
A-217Single-barrel development gun

NavWeaps describes A-217 as the single-gun design that preceded the twin AK-130 / ZIF-94 mount.

Sources: NavWeaps AK-130

AK-192Single-gun successor concept

WeaponSystems.net identifies AK-192 as a single-gun mount developed after AK-130 but not placed in production at the time of its account.

Sources: WeaponSystems 130mm AK-130

H/PJ-38 130 mmChinese derivative

NavWeaps describes the Chinese H/PJ-38 as a single-barrel gun derived from the AK-130 line for Type 052D destroyers.

Sources: NavWeaps AK-130

Documented Carrier Class

The AK-130 was built primarily as a shipboard weapon for Soviet and Russian surface combatants.

CarrierCarrier typeCarriage evidence
Project 1164 Atlant / Slava-class guided-missile cruiser, Guided-missile cruiser, Naval SystemsProject 1164 Atlant / Slava-class guided-missile cruiserGuided-missile cruiser

WeaponSystems.net states that all three Project 1164 Atlant / Slava-class cruisers carry an AK-130 gun turret on the bow.

Sources: WeaponSystems 130mm AK-130

Improvised Land Carriage

The 2024 Ukraine reporting describes the land-use adaptation as a hybrid rather than a standard naval installation.

Compatible itemItem typeCompatibility evidence
M-46, 130 mm towed field gun, ArtilleryM-46130 mm towed field-gun carriage

Army Recognition reported that Russian forces used an M-46 carriage fitted with AK-130 130 mm naval-gun hardware in Ukraine.

Sources: Army Recognition Hybrid Gun

Timeline

AK-130 naval gun Key Events

  1. Single-gun development begins

    NavWeaps dates PO Arsenal's initial A-217 single-gun development work to 1967, before the twin-mount solution was selected.

    Sources: NavWeaps AK-130

  2. AK-130 enters service

    NavWeaps and WeaponSystems.net both place the AK-130 in service in 1985 after development of the twin 130 mm automatic naval mount.

    Sources: NavWeaps AK-130, WeaponSystems 130mm AK-130

  3. Hybrid land-use footage appears

    Army Recognition and Militarnyi reported on footage of a Russian hybrid system in Ukraine combining M-46 carriage elements with AK-130 naval-gun hardware and ammunition.

    Sources: Army Recognition Hybrid Gun, Militarnyi Hybrid Naval-Towed Systems

Media

AK-130 naval gun Images

AK-130 naval gun, 130 mm twin-barrel automatic naval gun, Naval Systems - view 1
Source: Commons AK-130 Bystryy Image
Related Weapon Systems
130 mm SM-2-1, 130 mm/58 twin dual-purpose naval gun mount, Naval SystemsNaval Systems130 mm SM-2-1130 mm/58 twin dual-purpose naval gun mountThe 130 mm SM-2-1 was a Soviet twin 130 mm/58 naval gun mount developed by TsKB-34 for postwar destroyers and treated in open references as a stabilized dual-purpose weapon for surface and air targets. Serial production centered on Bolshevik Plant No. 232, with additional Starokramatorsk-built mounts, and the system armed Project 41 Neustrashimy and Project 56 Kotlin destroyers before informing China's Type 76 twin 130 mm mount. Checked open sources support service, platform, and production context but not a direct combat-use claim for a specific conflict.
MT-LB with 25 mm 2M-3 naval gun, Improvised tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun, Air DefenseAir DefenseMT-LB with 25 mm 2M-3 naval gunImprovised tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gunThe MT-LB with 25 mm 2M-3 naval gun is a Russian improvised weapons carrier that combines the Soviet MT-LB tracked armored tractor with a twin 25 mm 2M-3 or 2M-3M naval anti-aircraft mount. Open-source reporting and Russian loss documentation tie the conversion to the full-scale 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, where it appears as a short-range air-defense and direct-fire adaptation rather than a standardized factory combat vehicle.

Sources

NavWeaps AK-130Publisher: NavWeaps | Note: Supports the AK-130 designation, Soviet origin, dual-purpose naval-gun role, PO Arsenal development background, MR-184 fire-control context, service date, carrier classes, and technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-06WeaponSystems 130mm AK-130Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports development and producer context, production estimate, service status, carrier classes, variant notes, MR-184 fire-control context, and technical specifications. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Army Recognition Hybrid GunPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict use: Russian forces deployed in Ukraine using a hybrid towed gun based on an M-46 carriage fitted with AK-130 130 mm naval-gun hardware. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Militarnyi Hybrid Naval-Towed SystemsPublisher: Militarnyi | Note: Supports 2014 Russia-Ukraine War direct conflict use: reporting on Russian use of a hybrid M-46 and AK-130 naval-gun system in Ukraine, including AK-130-family unitary ammunition context. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons U.S. Navy AK-130 Firing ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the primary image: a public-domain U.S. Navy photograph of RFS Admiral Chabanenko firing the AK-130-MR-184 130 mm gun during FRUKUS 2011. | Accessed: 2026-07-06Commons AK-130 Bystryy ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports the gallery image: an open-license photograph of an AK-130 forward twin 130 mm turret on Russian destroyer Bystry in Jakarta in December 2015. | Accessed: 2026-07-06