Profile
- Type
- Towed 100 mm anti-aircraft gun
- Origin
- Soviet Union
- Service note
- Entered Soviet service in 1948; legacy guns remained in some post-Soviet inventories during the 2020s
Air Defense
100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft gun
The KS-19 is a Soviet 100 mm towed anti-aircraft gun designed for high-altitude air defense with radar-directed fire-control support, but its range and fixed ammunition also made it usable as a ground-fire artillery piece. In the Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict, open-source loss documentation identified Armenian/Artsakh KS-19 guns used as howitzers during the 2020 war.
- Conflict side
- Houthi-aligned forcesArmeniaArtsakh
- Built in
- Soviet Union
Service History
- In service
- Accepted into service in 1948; later retained or repurposed by some operators for air-defense and ground-fire roles.
- Used by
- Armenian / Artsakh forces, Soviet and former Warsaw Pact air-defense forces
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- L. V. Lyuliev
- Designed
- 1947
- Built in
- Soviet Union
- Unit cost
- Not publicly reported
- Produced
- 1948-1957
- Number built
- About 10,151 reported in open references
- Variants
- KS-19, KS-19M, KS-19M2, Type 59 Chinese production variant
Specifications
- Caliber
- 100 mm
- Crew
- 7 to 15 personnel depending on source and operating arrangement
- Weight
- About 9,350 kg to 9,550 kg in firing or towed configuration, depending on source
- Maximum ground range
- About 21 km
- Maximum altitude
- Up to about 15 km against air targets
- Rate of fire
- About 14-15 rounds per minute
- Fire control
- Designed for use with PUAZO fire directors and SON-9/SON-9A Fire Can radar, with on-carriage sights for independent use
Conflict Usage
- Yemen Civil War
- Side: Houthi-aligned forcesRole: Legacy towed anti-aircraft gun displayed with Houthi air-defense equipment
Houthi-aligned forces fielded Soviet 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft guns during the Yemen Civil War, with open-source parade imagery from Hodeidah in September 2022 showing KS-19 guns among their air-defense equipment.
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Towed gun used for ground fire support
Armenian/Artsakh forces fielded KS-19 guns during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting, with Oryx documenting 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft guns used as howitzers among Armenian-side losses.
100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft gun Images
Related Weapon Systems
ZU-23-2Towed twin 23 mm anti-aircraft autocannonThe ZU-23-2 is a Soviet twin 23 mm towed anti-aircraft autocannon built around two 2A14 guns on a light carriage. Its manual sighting, rapid emplacement, and high volume of fire make it a close-range air-defense weapon against low-flying aircraft, helicopters, and drones, while many operators also use it for direct fire against light vehicles and infantry positions. Armenian-side losses in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh fighting included towed and vehicle-mounted ZU-23 guns, Ukrainian units have kept the system relevant in mobile and positional air-defense teams during the Russia-Ukraine War, and UN reporting documented Houthi ZU-23 gun fire during the Yemen Civil War.2.JPG?width=480)
61-K 37 mm anti-aircraft gunTowed 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gunThe 61-K is a Soviet 37 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun built as a mobile, clip-fed short-range air-defense weapon. In the Yemen Civil War context, open-source reporting places 37 mm 61-K guns in Yemen's inherited anti-aircraft artillery inventory and describes Houthi-aligned forces using small-caliber anti-aircraft guns for both low-altitude air defense and ground fire.
S-60Towed 57 mm anti-aircraft gunThe S-60 is a Soviet 57 mm towed anti-aircraft gun adopted in 1950 for low- and medium-altitude air defense. Armenian/Artsakh forces fielded MT-LB-mounted AZP S-60 guns in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, while Ukrainian and Syrian examples show the same gun family often repurposed as mobile direct-fire or fire-support weapons.
2K12 Kub / Kvadrat / SA-6 GainfulTracked medium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe 2K12 Kub, exported as Kvadrat and known to NATO as SA-6 Gainful, is a Soviet tracked medium-range surface-to-air missile system built around 3M9 missiles, 2P25 launch vehicles, and the 1S91 Straight Flush radar. In recent conflict archives it appears as a legacy medium-range air-defense system, including Syrian use during the 2018 missile strikes, Armenian use in Nagorno-Karabakh, and a Houthi SA-6/Kub-family engagement that downed a U.S. MQ-9 over Yemen in 2019.
S-125 Neva/Pechora / SA-3 GoaShort- to medium-range surface-to-air missile systemThe S-125 Neva/Pechora, known to NATO as SA-3 Goa, is a Soviet command-guided surface-to-air missile system built to cover lower-altitude targets than earlier S-75 batteries. In the 2018 Syria Missile Strikes archive, it represents Syrian government point air defense reported by Russian officials as taking part in the response to the coalition cruise-missile and standoff-weapon attack.
ZSU-23-4 ShilkaTracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gunThe ZSU-23-4 Shilka is a Soviet tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun built around a radar-directed turret with four 23 mm autocannons. Designed to accompany maneuver forces against low-flying aircraft and helicopters, it remains relevant in Ukraine as a short-range air-defense and direct-fire platform, with visually documented losses on both Russian and Ukrainian sides.Sources
Houthi Forces Hodeidah ParadePublisher: imp_navigator | Note: Supports Yemen Civil War direct use: fielded by Houthi-aligned forces, with Soviet 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft guns visible in a September 2022 Hodeidah parade. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Oryx Nagorno-Karabakh LossesPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: used by Armenian/Artsakh forces as 100 mm KS-19 anti-aircraft guns used as howitzers during the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Azerbaijan MOD 14 October 2020 StatementPublisher: Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Azerbaijan | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct use: fielded by Armenian forces as a KS-19 anti-aircraft gun reported destroyed or disabled by Azerbaijan during the 2020 fighting. | Accessed: 2026-06-20NDU Ukraine KS-19 DataPublisher: National Defence University of Ukraine | Note: Supports KS-19 manufacturer, service-entry, design, caliber, weight, range, altitude, muzzle velocity, rate-of-fire, and crew data. | Accessed: 2026-06-20FAS KS-19 BackgroundPublisher: Federation of American Scientists | Note: Supports KS-19 background as a late-1940s Soviet 100 mm anti-aircraft gun with semiautomatic breech, power rammer, automatic fuze setter, and missile-era replacement context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20WeaponSystems.net KS-19Publisher: WeaponSystems.net | Note: Supports KS-19 technical background, 100 mm ammunition, approximate rate of fire, ground range, altitude envelope, fire director, and SON-9 Fire Can radar context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons KS-19 Camp Lejeune ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain U.S. Department of Defense licensing for a KS-19 100 mm anti-aircraft gun photographed at Camp Lejeune in 1989. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Bagram KS-19 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and CC BY 2.0 licensing for a KS-19-type anti-aircraft cannon photographed at Bagram Airfield. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons Solid Shield KS-19 ImagePublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Image provenance and public-domain U.S. government licensing for a Soviet-built KS-19 100 mm anti-aircraft gun photographed during Exercise Solid Shield 1989. | Accessed: 2026-06-20