The Polish Army’s 35th Air Defense Missile Squadron acquired the PSRA Pilica Very Short Range (VSHORAD) air defense system, which includes a ZUR-23-2SP 23mm automatic artillery system. In December 2016, the Polish Army has confirmed a $180 million contract for the acquisition of six batteries of the PSRA Pilica for the Polish Armed Forces. The PSRA Pilica systems will be entered into service in 2017 with deliveries to be completed by 2020. The first, which is the prototype of the system, was put into service with the 37th Missile Squadron for Air Defense, based in Sohachev.
The PSRA Pilica is a Very SHOrt-Range Air Defense system (VSHORAD) developed by a consortium of Polish Defense Companies including CRW Telesystem-Mesko, Jelcz, PCO, PIT-RADWAR, Prexer, and WZL under the lead of the Company Zaklady Mechaniczne Tarnow (ZMT). The PSRA Pilica VSHORAD is designed to resist aerial targets flying at medium or low altitude. The main weapon system of the PSRA Pilica consists of the ZUR-23-2SP which is based on the Soviet-made ZU-23-2. The armament of the ZUR-23-2SP includes a twin-barreled 23mm 2A14 automatic cannon and two Grom or Piorun MANPADS (MAN-Portable Air Defence Systems).
The ZUR-23-2SP was performed in Poland by the Company Zaklady Mechaniczne Tarnow (ZMT). This artillery system is now electrically powered in elevation and traverse to allow faster engagement of air targets. it is also fitted with new sighting system, TV Camera , cooled thermal camera and laser range finder. The 23 mm cannon has a cyclic rate of fire of 1,600 to 2,000-rds/min with both barrels although practical rate of fire is 400 rounds using both barrels. The ZUR-23-2SP can traverse through 360° and the elevation is from -10° to +75° for the 23mm cannon and 0° to 70° for the GROM/PIORUN missiles.
The Piorun (meaning “thunderbolt” in Polish) is a man-portable air-defense system of Polish production, designed to destroying low-flying aircraft, airplanes, helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. The Piorun system including the launch unit and the missile has a total weight of 16.5 kg. The design is based on the Soviet-made 9K38 Igla (SA-18 Grail). The set is a deep modernization of the PPZR Grom set, therefore the second designation of the missile is GROM-M. It uses a new short-range missile including a new warhead that can hit a flying target at a distance from 400 m to 6 km and from an altitude of 10 m minimum to 4 km maximum.
