ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun

Conflict Usage

Yemen Civil War

Side: Yemeni government and coalition forcesRole: Technical-mounted low-altitude air defense and fire supportair defensecounter-uavstrike

Anti-Houthi Giants Brigades forces in Yemen were reported using technicals fitted with heavy weapons, including ZPU-4 anti-aircraft machine guns, during the Yemen Civil War; the available open source identifies the formation and weapon type but does not quantify the number of mounts.

ZPU-4 anti-aircraft gun Images

Related Weapon Systems

Air DefenseZPU-1 anti-aircraft gunSingle-barrel 14.5 mm towed anti-aircraft gunThe ZPU-1 is the single-barrel member of the Soviet ZPU family, mounting a 14.5 mm KPV heavy machine gun on a light two-wheel carriage. In Yemen Civil War sourcing it appears in the Yemeni Army inventory and in technical-mounted configurations, making it a low-level air-defense and direct-fire weapon rather than a modern radar-guided system.

Air DefenseGDF-001 / GDF-002 anti-aircraft gunTowed twin 35 mm anti-aircraft gunThe GDF-001 and GDF-002 are early Oerlikon GDF twin 35 mm towed anti-aircraft guns, usually paired with optical sights or Super Fledermaus/Skyguard radar control for point defense. In the Yemen Civil War record, open-source documentation places GDF-001/GDF-002 guns in the pre-war Yemeni Army inventory and available to Yemeni battlefield parties after the Houthi takeover, but does not support a precise engagement or shootdown claim.

Air DefenseM167 VulcanTowed 20 mm short-range anti-aircraft gunThe M167 Vulcan is a U.S.-origin towed short-range air-defense gun built around the 20 mm M168 six-barrel rotary cannon. In Yemen, Houthi forces have been documented using captured Vulcan guns on improvised vehicle mounts, giving the system a mobile direct-fire role alongside its original close-in air-defense function.

Air DefenseSaqr / Project 358 surface-to-air missileLoitering surface-to-air missileThe Saqr, commonly identified as Project 358 or the 358 missile, is an Iranian-designed loitering surface-to-air missile associated with Houthi-aligned forces in Yemen. Unlike conventional short-range SAMs, it uses a booster and small cruise engine to patrol for slower aerial targets, making it relevant to the Yemen Civil War's UAV, helicopter, and improvised air-defense environment.

Air DefenseAN/TPQ-53 multimission radarMobile multimission counterfire and air-surveillance radarThe AN/TPQ-53 is a Lockheed Martin mobile active electronically scanned array radar originally fielded for counterfire target acquisition and later adapted for multimission sensing. In the United States-Iran Conflict, reporting on Operation Epic Fury credited the radar with ground-based tracking of rockets, missiles, and unmanned systems inside joint sensor networks.

Air DefenseCounter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar system / C-RAMLand-based close-in weapon systemCounter Rocket, Artillery, and Mortar system (C-RAM), also known as the land-based Phalanx Weapon System, is a U.S. fixed-site air-defense suite built around a 20 mm rapid-fire gun, sensors, and fire control to intercept rockets, mortars, and small drones. In the United States-Iran Conflict, U.S. forces used it around Baghdad to defend a diplomatic facility against drone and rocket attacks.

Sources