Profile
- Type
- Improvised tracked self-propelled anti-aircraft gun
- Origin
- Soviet Union base vehicle and gun; Armenian field conversion
- Service note
- Cold War components adapted for 2020 conflict use
Air Defense
MT-LB with ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun
The MT-LB with ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun is an improvised tracked fire-support and short-range air-defense vehicle that combines the Soviet MT-LB multipurpose armored tractor with a twin 23 mm ZU-23 gun mount. Armenian and Artsakh forces used this kind of conversion in the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, where open-source loss documentation shows several MT-LB/ZU-23 vehicles destroyed, damaged, or captured.
- Built in
- Soviet UnionArmenia
Service History
- In service
- Documented in Armenian/Artsakh use during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war
- Used by
- Armenian Armed Forces, Artsakh Defense Army
- Wars
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
Production History
- Designer
- Soviet MT-LB and ZU-23-2 design teams; local Armenian conversion
- Designed
- MT-LB early 1960s; ZU-23-2 late 1950s; conversion documented by 2020
- Built in
- Soviet UnionArmenia
- Produced
- Field conversion of existing MT-LB and ZU-23 stocks
- Variants
- MT-LB with ZU-23 AA gun, MT-LB-T-23-2
Specifications
- Armament
- Twin 23 mm ZU-23-2 automatic cannon mounted on an MT-LB hull
- Base vehicle
- MT-LB multipurpose tracked armored vehicle
- Combat weight
- Approximately 11.9 tonnes for the base MT-LB, plus the roughly 950 kg ZU-23-2 mount and local installation hardware
- Crew
- At least the MT-LB driver and commander plus ZU-23 gun crew; exact conversion crew varies
- Gun range
- About 2.5 km against low-flying aircraft and about 2 km against lightly armored ground targets
- Mobility
- Tracked MT-LB chassis, about 62 km/h road speed and 500 km range for the base vehicle
- Protection
- Light welded steel armor on the MT-LB hull; exposed gun crew on common open mount conversions
Conflict Usage
- Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict
- Side: ArmeniaArtsakhRole: Short-range air defense and direct fire support
Armenian and Artsakh forces fielded MT-LBs fitted with ZU-23 anti-aircraft guns during the 2020 war; Oryx documents five Armenian losses, including vehicles destroyed or damaged by TB2 strikes and vehicles captured by Azerbaijani forces.
MT-LB with ZU-23 anti-aircraft gun Images
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Oryx Nagorno-Karabakh Loss ListPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict direct-use evidence: MT-LB with ZU-23 AA gun fielded by Armenian/Artsakh forces, with destroyed, damaged, and captured examples documented in the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Oryx Armenian Armor ConversionsPublisher: Oryx | Note: Supports Nagorno-Karabakh Conflict context: Armenian forces used MT-LB conversions with anti-aircraft guns, including rarer ZU-23-equipped vehicles, during the 2020 war. | Accessed: 2026-06-20MT-LB Technical DataPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports MT-LB base-vehicle background, dimensions, protection, crew, road speed, and range. | Accessed: 2026-06-20MT-LB Army Guide EntryPublisher: Army Guide | Note: Supports MT-LB base-vehicle manufacturer attribution to OJSC The Kharkov Tractor Factory and additional vehicle background. | Accessed: 2026-06-20ZU-23-2 Technical DataPublisher: Army Recognition | Note: Supports ZU-23-2 background, armament, crew, weight, range, traverse, elevation, and ammunition context. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons MT-LB with ZU-23-2 in IraqPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a public-domain U.S. Marine Corps photograph of an MT-LB modified with a ZU-23-2 gun in Iraq. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons MT-LB-T-23-2Publisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY-SA 4.0 photograph of an MT-LB-T-23-2 vehicle at a 2015 Kyiv defense exhibition. | Accessed: 2026-06-20Commons 46th Air Assault Brigade TrainingPublisher: Wikimedia Commons | Note: Supports image provenance for a CC BY 4.0 Ukrainian Ministry of Defense photograph categorized as ZU-23-2 on MT-LB. | Accessed: 2026-06-20