Direct proof of use
The strongest documented Syrian Civil War use appears in two open-source equipment records. Bellingcat reported in May 2015 that defenders at Kweres airbase used 14.5 mm ZPU-4s, 23 mm ZU-23s, and 57 mm S-60 guns taken from anti-aircraft emplacements and placed around the base, including on hardened aircraft shelters, to strengthen the airbase perimeter.
Oryx separately documented YPG equipment in northern Syria and listed 14.5 mm ZPU-4 anti-aircraft guns under self-propelled anti-aircraft guns used for fire-support missions, noting small quantities mounted on pickup trucks. That source ties the ZPU-4 evidence to YPG forces, the primary faction inside the Syrian Democratic Forces alliance.
Sources: Bellingcat Kweres Airbase, Oryx YPG Equipment Inventory
Timeline
Kweres airbase had been under siege since late 2012 and remained held by Syrian government forces as Islamic State pressure increased around the base in 2015. Bellingcat's 10 May 2015 article described the garrison's defensive layout and identified the ZPU-4 as part of the heavy defensive firepower available to the base.
The YPG/SDF evidence is later and less incident-specific. Oryx's October 2021 inventory gathered photographed YPG heavy weapons and vehicles in northern Syria and included pickup-mounted ZPU-4s among fire-support anti-aircraft guns. The article supports documented possession and fielding by YPG/SDF-aligned forces, but it does not establish a first-use date or a named engagement for each ZPU-4 mount.
Sources: Bellingcat Kweres Airbase, Oryx YPG Equipment Inventory
Battlefield role
In Syrian government service at Kweres, the ZPU-4 functioned less as a mobile air-defense asset and more as fixed defensive heavy firepower. Bellingcat described the base as lacking tanks or artillery, which made its anti-aircraft guns important for holding exposed approaches and fortified aircraft shelters against ground attack.
In YPG/SDF use, the same 14.5 mm quadruple mount appears in the technical-mounted fire-support pattern common to Syrian fighting. WeaponSystems.net describes the ZPU-4 as a four-KPV heavy-machine-gun mount that can be towed or vehicle-mounted and notes that surviving systems are often used against ground targets. Oryx's YPG inventory places the northern Syria ZPU-4s in that self-propelled fire-support category.
Sources: Bellingcat Kweres Airbase, Oryx YPG Equipment Inventory, ZPU-4 WeaponSystems.net
