- Yes
- No
TL;DR: Ethiopian modification of a Chinese APC with turreted dual 23mm cannons
History
Ethiopia has long been an ally of the USSR and China, beginning with the establishment of a Marxist-Leninist state (the Derg) in 1974 following the toppling of the Ethiopian Empire. It has been provided with weapons from these countries for decades – one such weapon system is the ZU-23-2 (ZU = Zenitnaya Ustanovka, anti-aircraft mount), a dual 23mm towed anti-aircraft cannon. This weapon entered service with the Soviet Union in 1960, and has been subsequently exported across much of the globe.
No information seems to be available regarding Ethiopia’s imports of ZU-23s, other than deliveries of around 60 ZSU-23-4s completed in 1982. However, the ZU-23s are one of Ethiopia’s most numerous anti-aircraft cannons, and appear to have seen extensive service. A number of vehicles have been fitted with this weapon system, including trucks like the Ural 4320 or Ural 375D.
- Ethiopian Ural 4320 with ZU-23-2
In 2015, China delivered at least 10, possibly up to 200, ZSD89 APCs to Ethiopia, which normally house a one-man turret, fitted with a single 12.7mm QJC88 machine gun. Beginning in 2016, Ethiopia has focused on upgrading its military capabilities, to improve its combat readiness. This has resulted in a number of new vehicle acquisitions, but also upgrades to pre-existing vehicles, including this 23mm-armed ZSD89, and others, such as 122mm D-30-armed WZ551s and ZSD89s.
The ZU-23-2-armed ZSD89 were first spotted during a parade on October 26th, 2023. At least 9 of them have been converted. They have been fitted with an Ethiopian designed turret, and have since been seen a few times in training exercises. Their designation in Ethiopian service is (to my knowledge) unknown.
- Two ZSD89 (ZU-23-2) alongside two WZ551 (ZU-23-2)
Characteristics
The turret is an Ethiopian construction, and rather crude, effectively just a box around the guns, with a curved front. The sides are two separate armour plates joined together, and the rear is one piece. The armour thickness is unknown but presumably thin (<10mm), and only able to resist small arms fire.
The 23mm cannons fire at 400rpm each, and have one 50 round belt each. They can fire AP rounds at 970 m/s, with a armour penetration of 51mm at 10m (in-game), as well as HEFI rounds. These guns are on a few vehicles in-game, like the Soviet ZSU-23-4 (with 4 cannons), and the South African Bosvark.
The ZSD89 has a 320hp engine, giving the vehicle a power-to-weight ratio of 22.4hp/t (just the APC), and a top speed of 65km/h on land, and 6.5km/h in water. The vehicle has 20mm of frontal armour allowing it to resist 14.5mm machine gun fire. On standard ZSD89 variants, the driver sits at the front, and the commander next to then. On this SPAA variant, the crew layout is unknown, but probably only has 3 – commander and driver in the hull, and a single gunner in the turret.
Conclusion
The ZSD89 (ZU-23) is a unique APC-turned-SPAA and would fit best into the Chinese tree, around a BR of 6.0. It would play quite similarly to the BTR-ZD which sits at 6.0, but with slightly worse mobility yet slightly better armour. It would easily fit as a tech-tree vehicle, but could also fit (perhaps better) as a premium or event vehicle considering it is not a Chinese development.
Specifications
Armament
- 23mm ZU-23-2
- API-T
- 51mm at 0º at 10m
- HEF-I
- HEFI-T
- API-T
Armour
- Hull
- Front - 20mm
- Sides - 8mm
- Rear - 8mm
Mobility
- Speed
- 65km/h on land
- 6.5km/h in water
- Weight
- ~14.3t + 0.95t = 15.3t (Estimated)
- Engine power
- 320hp, ~21-22 hp/t
Other
- Crew
- 3 (Commander, Driver, Gunner)
Images
Sources
