The S-60 is a Soviet 57 mm towed anti-aircraft gun adopted in 1950 for low- and medium-altitude air defense. North Vietnamese crews used S-60 guns as part of radar-controlled anti-aircraft defenses in the Vietnam War, and later Armenian/Artsakh, Ukrainian, and Syrian examples show the same gun family repurposed on MT-LB or truck mounts for mobile direct fire and counter-UAV work.
Armenian/Artsakh forces fielded MT-LB-mounted AZP S-60 anti-aircraft guns during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, with open-source loss documentation and a Baku trophy-park example identifying destroyed and captured vehicles.
Ukrainian forces used S-60 guns during the full-scale invasion, including truck-mounted examples on the Kherson front employed as mobile fire-support weapons against Russian positions, infantry, and light armored vehicles.
Role detailsSyrian government forces, rebel groups, Islamic State forces, and YPG/SDF forces used or captured S-60 guns during the 2011 Syrian Civil War, including truck-mounted variants employed mainly for ground fire support in open terrain and urban fighting.
Role detailsNorth Vietnamese air-defense forces used S-60 57 mm guns as part of the radar-controlled larger-caliber anti-aircraft artillery threat faced by U.S. aircraft during Vietnam War operations.
S-60 normally refers to the complete Soviet 57 mm anti-aircraft gun system built around the AZP-57 automatic cannon; later catalog-visible forms include licensed or copied guns and wartime vehicle mounts.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| AZP-57 gun of the S-60 system | Baseline 57 mm automatic gun | The Ukrainian defence university museum identifies the AZP S-60 as a 57 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun adopted in 1950 and built at Plant No. 4 in Krasnoyarsk. Sources: 57 mm AZP S-60 |
| MT-LB-mounted AZP S-60 field modification | Tracked self-propelled field conversion | Open-source loss records and the Baku trophy-park file page identify Armenian/Artsakh MT-LB vehicles fitted with AZP S-60 guns during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war. Sources: The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And Azerbaijan, File:AZP S-60, mounted on MT-LB in Military Trophy Park (Baku).jpg |
| Truck-mounted Ukrainian field modifications | Mobile air-defense and fire-support conversion | Ukrainian reporting documents S-60 guns mounted on trucks and used by Ukrainian forces for rapid movement and direct fire against Russian positions, infantry, and light armor. Sources: For the Disposal of Occupiers, the Armed Forces Use S-60 Anti-Aircraft Guns, How Successful Soviet S-60 Anti-Aircraft Guns in Ukraine |
| Type 59 | Chinese copy | WeaponSystems.net lists Type 59 as the Chinese copy associated with the S-60 family. Sources: S-60 |
Several conflict records document the 57 mm gun moved from its normal towed carriage onto available armored or truck chassis.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | Tracked carrier chassis | Armenian/Artsakh forces fielded MT-LB vehicles carrying AZP S-60 guns during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, with destroyed and captured examples documented in loss records and trophy-park imagery. Sources: The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And Azerbaijan, File:AZP S-60, mounted on MT-LB in Military Trophy Park (Baku).jpg |
Soviet design work on a new 57 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun began at NDI-58 and TsAKB under Vasily Grabin and Lev Loktev.
Sources: 57 mm AZP S-60
The AZP-57 gun was accepted into Soviet service as the 57 mm automatic anti-aircraft gun of the S-60 system, with production beginning at Plant No. 4 in Krasnoyarsk.
Sources: 57 mm AZP S-60
U.S. Air National Guard historical material describes North Vietnamese air-defense forces using radar-controlled larger-caliber anti-aircraft artillery including S-60 57 mm guns during the Vietnam War.
Sources: Twenty Months In and Out-Country - Col. Scott Powell in Southeast Asia, 1971-1972
Loss documentation and trophy-park imagery identified Armenian/Artsakh MT-LB vehicles fitted with AZP S-60 guns during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war.
Sources: The Fight For Nagorno-Karabakh: Documenting Losses On The Sides Of Armenia And Azerbaijan, File:AZP S-60, mounted on MT-LB in Military Trophy Park (Baku).jpg
ArmyInform described Ukrainian forces using truck-mounted S-60 guns on the Kherson front as mobile fire-support weapons.
Sources: For the Disposal of Occupiers, the Armed Forces Use S-60 Anti-Aircraft Guns
