The Ministry of National Defense announced that on August 19, a presentation by a representative of the Polish company AREX was held to the staff of the General Staff of the Army, regarding the upgrade of the ZU-23-2 anti-aircraft gun of 23 millimeters. On its website the company has two listings/upgrade proposals for the ZU-23, one of which is the ZUR-23-2KG-1 (selected by Indonesia).
The main upgrade proposal for the ZU-23-2, and probably the one presented at the GES, concerns the integration of an electric, digital gun control system (with a manual backup system), so that the gun can be fired quickly and accurately. In addition, the cannon is equipped with an external fire control system, to increase accuracy, and an electro-optic sight, for better aiming.
It should be noted that the Hellenic Army (HE) maintains in service about 505 ZU-23-2 towed anti-aircraft guns, which were acquired from Germany in the early 1990s. In addition to the AREX upgrade proposal, and if the HE is interested in upgrade the ZU-23-2s, it is also worth evaluating the PSR-A Pilica version, which Poland is receiving. It is a more comprehensive upgrade solution for the ZU-23-2, the development of which began in 2006.
Tests of the system were completed in 2015 and in November 2016 Poland signed a €171 million contract for the supply of six (6) PSR-A Pilica systems (six command centers, 36 fire units, six radars and 24 support and ammunition transport vehicles ). The first system successfully completed evaluation and acceptance testing in October 2020.
The PSR-A Pilica is a close-in air defense system, capable of engaging targets such as UAVs, aircraft, helicopters, and even cruise missiles, at ranges of up to 5 kilometers. It is a self-propelled system and can be used either for the protection of motorized/armored formations or for the protection of critical installations, military and/or civilian. Main armament is two (2) 23mm cannons and two (2) Grom or newer Piorum anti-aircraft missile launchers.
Cannons achieve a maximum effective range of 3km, while Piorun missiles achieve a maximum range of 5.5km. Each PSR-A Pilica system consists of six (6) guns, mounted on Jelcz 442.32 vehicles. Each gun incorporates a GOS-1 electro-optical system, a KMW-1 Teja thermal camera, a day camera and a laser range finder. Also, each system is accompanied by one (1) command and control center, on a Jelcz 442.32 vehicle, one (1) radar and four (4) support and ammunition transport vehicles.
