The GSh-23L is the muzzle-braked twin-barrel 23 mm aircraft cannon in the Soviet GSh-23 family, built for compact high-rate aircraft armament. It appears in fixed installations and gun pods across fighters, trainers, attack aircraft, and bomber turrets, and Myanmar Witness documents GSh-23-L cannon fire from Yak-130 ground-attack sorties in the 2021 Myanmar Civil War.
Myanmar Witness identifies the Myanmar Yak-130's main cannon as a GSh-23-L and documents verified Yak-130 footage showing 23 mm cannon fire during post-coup ground-attack operations, including a May 2022 attack near Thay Baw Boe.
The GSh-23 family centers on the same 23x115 mm twin-barrel Gast-principle cannon, with the GSh-23L distinguished by its muzzle-brake installation and adjacent variants adapted for other aircraft mounts.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| GSh-23 | Base twin-barrel aircraft cannon | The base GSh-23 preceded the GSh-23L; Weaponsystems.net treats the GSh-23L as the muzzle-braked member of the same 23 mm cannon family. |
| GSh-23V | Water-cooled helicopter-mount variant | Reference sources describe the GSh-23V as a water-cooled member of the family associated with the NPPU-23 helicopter turret. Sources: Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 - Wikipedia |
The GSh-23L appears as fixed aircraft armament and as the cannon inside ventral or suspended gun pods on several cataloged Soviet, Czech, Yugoslav, and Russian aircraft.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Jet trainer and light attack aircraft | American Airpower Museum says the L-39ZA light combat variant was fitted with a single GSh-23 cannon mounted underneath the fuselage. |
 | Fighter aircraft | MiG-21 references document GP-9 pod carriage on second-generation aircraft and permanent GSh-23L installation on later variants such as the MiG-21M, MiG-21MF, MiG-21SMT, and MiG-21bis. Sources: All the World's Aircraft MiG-21 |
 | Fighter and fighter-bomber aircraft | Deagel lists the MiG-23 among GSh-23L platforms, and reference material describes MiG-23 variants carrying the cannon with 200 rounds. |
 | Fighter-bomber aircraft | Deagel lists the Su-17 among GSh-23L platforms, while GSh-23-family references describe gun-pod carriage across the Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 strike-aircraft line. Sources: Deagel GSh-23, Weaponsystems.net 23mm Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 |
 | Export fighter-bomber aircraft | GSh-23-family references describe GSh-23 gun pods as commonly carried by Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 family aircraft. |
 | Ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft | Airforce Technology describes the J-22 Orao as armed with two 23 mm GSh-23L dual-barrel cannons in the lower forward fuselage. Sources: Airforce Technology Soko J-22 Orao |
 | Advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft | GlobalMilitary.net describes the G-4 Super Galeb combat fit as a removable centerline pod containing a twin-barrel 23 mm GSh-23L cannon with 200 rounds. |
 | Advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft | Weaponsystems.net identifies the Yak-130 SNPU-130 gun pod as carrying a GSh-23L twin-barrel 23 mm autocannon with 120 rounds. Sources: Weaponsystems.net Yakovlev Yak-130 |
The same cannon family appears both as fixed aircraft armament and inside dedicated gun pods. UPK-23-250, GP-9, and SNPU-130 do not currently have exact catalog records, so this section keeps the pod context attached to the cannon entry rather than creating unsupported public links.
| Pod or mount | Linked aircraft | Documented relationship |
|---|---|---|
| UPK-23-250 | | Weaponsystems.net describes the UPK-23 as fitted with a single GSh-23L autocannon and 250 rounds of 23x115 mm ammunition; broader GSh-23 references describe pod use on Su-17/Su-20/Su-22 family aircraft. |
| GP-9 | | MiG-21 references document the GP-9 as a ventral gun pod option on second-generation MiG-21 variants, while later MiG-21 variants carried the GSh-23L in a permanent under-fuselage installation. |
| SNPU-130 | | Weaponsystems.net identifies the SNPU-130 as a Yak-130-specific gun pod with a GSh-23L twin-barrel 23 mm autocannon and 120 rounds. |
| Removable centerline cannon pod | | GlobalMilitary.net describes the G-4 combat fit as a removable centerline pod containing a twin-barrel 23 mm GSh-23L cannon with 200 rounds. |
Sources: Weaponsystems.net UPK-23; All the World's Aircraft MiG-21; Weaponsystems.net Yakovlev Yak-130; GlobalMilitary.net Soko G-4 Super Galeb; Centre for Information Resilience K-8.
Open references place the GSh-23 family in service from 1965 as a replacement for earlier Soviet aircraft cannon types.
Sources: Gryazev-Shipunov GSh-23 - Wikipedia
The L-39ZA light-combat variant flew in 1976 with an under-fuselage GSh-23 cannon installation and four hardpoints.
Sources: American Airpower Museum L-39ZA Albatros, Defense Express L-39ZA Albatros
Myanmar Witness reported footage of a Yak-130 firing its 23 mm cannon and unguided rockets near Thay Baw Boe during Myanmar's post-coup civil war.
Sources: CIR Arms Investigation Russian Yak-130 Aircraft in Myanmar
