The ZPU-2 is a Soviet twin 14.5 mm anti-aircraft gun built around two KPV heavy machine guns on a two-wheel carriage. Captured Iraqi examples, Yemeni truck mounts, and Ukraine's Czech-supplied MR-2 Viktor systems show how the Cold War gun shifted from low-altitude air defense into mobile direct-fire and counter-UAV work.
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force identifies its ZPU-2 as a Soviet-built Iraqi anti-aircraft gun captured by Allied forces during Operation Desert Storm, tying the twin-KPV mount to Iraqi air-defense equipment in the 1990 Gulf War.
Role detailsUkrainian and defense-industry reporting describe Czech MR-2 Viktor systems for Ukraine as Toyota-mounted ZPU-2 or paired 14.5 mm KPVT installations used for counter-UAV and low-altitude air-defense training during the war.
Role detailsFox News reported Yemeni government-aligned soldiers on the Nihm front east of Sanaa climbing onto a truck-mounted ZPU-2 and firing it at a Houthi target in July 2018.
Role detailsThe ZPU family uses single-, twin-, and quadruple 14.5 mm KPV layouts; later or licensed twin-gun designations include ZU-2, Type 58, and PKM-2.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
 | Single 14.5 mm KPV mount | Single-gun member of the same Soviet ZPU anti-aircraft family. Sources: ZPU-2 |
 | Quadruple 14.5 mm KPV mount | Quadruple-gun member of the same ZPU family, trading portability for a much higher combined volume of fire. Sources: ZPU-2 |
The ZPU-2 is best understood as a mount built around two 14.5 mm KPV-family heavy machine guns rather than as a self-contained missile or cannon system.
| Compatible item | Item type | Compatibility evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 14.5 mm heavy machine gun | GulfLINK and Weaponsystems.net describe the ZPU-2 as a twin anti-aircraft mount using KPV/KPVT 14.5 mm heavy machine guns. Sources: Air defense Weapons of the Former USSR & Russia, ZPU-2 |
The ZPU-2 family was adapted from towed carriage service to vehicle mounts, from Soviet armored carriers to modern pickup-based air-defense systems.
| Carrier | Carrier type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 4x4 armored personnel carrier family | Weaponsystems.net says the ZPU-2 mount was modified for the BTR-40 armored personnel carrier, creating the BTR-40A self-propelled anti-aircraft gun. Sources: ZPU-2 |
Weaponsystems.net places ZPU-2 service entry in 1949, the same postwar period that put the KPV-based ZPU family into Soviet air-defense units.
Sources: ZPU-2
Weaponsystems.net lists 1955 for the ZU-2, a later twin-gun designation associated with Type 58 Chinese production.
Sources: ZPU-2
The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force preserves a captured Iraqi ZPU-2, documenting the mount in Iraqi service around the 1990 Gulf War era.
Sources: Captured Iraqi Anti-Aircraft Gun (ZPU-2)
Fox News reported Yemeni government-aligned soldiers firing a truck-mounted ZPU-2 on the Nihm front east of Sanaa.
Sources: The fight for Yemen's capital fueled by drugs, witchcraft and fierce fire
Defense Express reported Ukrainian training with Czech-made MR-2 Viktor vehicles using paired 14.5 mm guns for UAV and low-altitude air-defense tasks.
Sources: Ukrainian Training on MR-2 Viktor Anti-Aircraft Vehicles
